Chasing Ghosts
by Rynxenvy
Summary: She had no business becoming a hero, that's not what she was born to be and she knew that but something within her urged her to consider the path of heroism. She wanted to prove, more so to herself but also to the watchful eyes around her, that she was capable of making her own decisions. The one thing she never took into consideration-was getting attached to him, of all people.
1. Chapter 1

Accepting the invitation to learn at Yūei had been a mistake, Natsumi knew that deep down she could never truly be a hero, but it was worth a shot. She had nothing to lose. She needed to deviate from the path that had been laid out for her, she needed to prove that she was her own person capable of making her own choices and mistakes.

The reflection staring back at her from the bathroom mirror was someone she didn't even recognize, though she supposed that was her original intent. Her eyes were naturally narrow, framed by thick black lashes. Her hair, a pastel pink that came just past her shoulders in loose waves with bangs swept neatly across her forehead, hung freely and she momentarily contemplated whether she should put it up or not for her first day.

Not that she cared much for first impressions nor for what her classmates would think of her, but she was determined to not look like the emotional wreck that she was on the inside.

Pale fingers curled around the box of hair dye on the counter, _Cotton Candy Pink_ , now an empty vessel that she no longer had use for. She deftly tossed it into the waste basket in the corner by the toilet before turning her attention to her eyes.

Dark crimson stared back at her.

 _That won't do._

Glancing down at the mess scattered across her counter top, Natsumi pushed various makeup and personal hygiene products aside before her fingers brushed across the one item she was searching for; a small contact lens case.

She flipped it open, carefully pulling out the delicate lens and holding her left eye open wide so she could gently place it over her crimson iris. Once that eye was done she mimicked the action with her right, blinking rapidly to clear away the tears and staring at herself once again in the mirror, her eyes now a dark shade of brown.

Already dressed in her new school uniform she cast a glance over her shoulder, peering through the open bathroom door and squinting to see the LED numbers of her digital clock in the other room.

"Shit."

She would be cutting it close but if she left now she would, hopefully, make it just in time for homeroom. Quickly she ran out towards her living room and snatched her black boots from the mat by the door, pulling them on and tightening the already tied laces.

* * *

The pink haired teen was thankful that her apartment was relatively close to campus otherwise she wouldn't have made it in time for the first bell, signifying the start of class. She wasn't looking to make any waves, especially on her first day, and definitely didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

Quickly checking the seating chart posted on the board she noticed that there was an odd number of students in the class, making the rows of desks uneven. Her designated seat was at the back of the first row, right up against the window.

She took her seat, from the corner of her eye she noticed her neighbor staring at her with an unreadable expression. Natsumi recognized him from the exam that she had taken with the other kids who had received recommendations, she never caught his name, not that she particularly cared to know it, but she did remember that he had been rather startled by her quirk.

 _The written portion of the exam was over and Present Mic had just announced that the next part would be an obstacle race where they would need to use their quirks if they wanted to finish within a reasonable time._

 _She cast a quick glance at the five other hopefuls at her side, most of them eagerly smirking at the course set out before them. The only person, besides herself, who stood emotionless was the boy directly to her left. He was taller than her, his entire appearance was a little eccentric looking from his heterochromia eyes (one grey and the other glacial blue) to his shaggy hair that was split evenly down the middle, white on one side and crimson on the other._

 _Not a single one of them had spared her much of a glance, something she was grateful for. They didn't see her as much of a threat due to her small stature and she could use that to her advantage._

 _The race began and the other teens took off ahead of her, her lips twitched into a smirk. Most of them were opting to stay on the path carved through the territory ahead of them, but she knew that the quickest way to the finish line would be a straight line._

 _Her breath came out as a small cloud of cold air as she activated her quirk and propelled herself forward leaving a trail of ice in her wake. When she would arrive at an obstacle that she couldn't go around, she would deactivate her ice and use the second part of her Quirk and turn her body intangible. Once she phased through the obstacle she would make herself solid again and resume using her icy path._

 _Once she neared the top she noticed that, after all this time, she wasn't alone anymore. A growl burned at the back of her throat as the boy with dual-colored hair caught up to her, his eyes shifting to her and then to her icy trail and for a moment he was caught off guard. He was also using ice to propel himself, they were neck and neck, but she refused to take second place._

 _Another boy appeared to the right of Heterochromia, this one using some sort of wind-based Quirk to move his body forward._

 _Suddenly the trio came upon a large boulder protruding from the ground, the two boys quickly changed their directions to avoid smashing into it while she simply flew right through it. Because she was able to avoid going around the obstacle, which would have added more time and slowed her down, she was able to get ahead of the two boys once more._

 _She crossed the finish line first, the two boys tying for second place._

 _Windy was talking animatedly, presumably to Heterochromia, congratulating him on a great race but the other boy wasn't paying attention, his cold stare was focused on her._

As she snapped herself out of her thoughts she realized that she and the boy had been holding an impromptu staring contest. Natsumi was the first to break eye contact, focusing her attention on the front of the class as the last of the stragglers entered just in time for the tardy bell to ring.

A giant, yellow caterpillar slinked inside the door and—no, it wasn't a caterpillar, it was a grown man encased in a bright yellow sleeping bag. Her classmates voiced their thoughts on this new stranger in way of hushed whispers to their neighbors, wondering who this peculiar person could be.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shouta." His voice was monotonous and bored sounding. He unzipped the sleeping bag and stepped out of it, discarding it behind his desk. His eyes were blood shot, dark bags clung heavily beneath them. His hair was black and stringy, almost as if it hadn't seen a brush in years. All in all their homeroom teacher looked incredibly unkempt.

"I know this is sudden but put these on and meet me outside." He held up a blue gym uniform in one hand and motioned for them to check under their desks for their own uniform before he turned on his heel and stalked out of the massive doorway.

Curious whispers erupted from her classmates and they each pulled out their uniform, all voicing the same question, ' _what was in store for them on their first day_?'

She rose from her seat, uniform in hand, and made her way towards the girls locker room to change with the rest of her female classmates. They were all excitedly chatting away with each other, introducing themselves and asking what they thought Aizawa-sensei had planned for them. Natsumi was the only one who remained silent and that didn't go unnoticed for long.

"Hi there, my name is Uraraka Ochako." A bubbly brunette appeared in front of her, her lips upturned into a bright smile.

"I'm Yaoyorozu Momo, you're also here on recommendation, aren't you? I remember you from the exam, you came in first place during the race." A tall, busty girl with long black hair neatly tied back in a pony tail offered a friendly smile.

The pink haired teen felt a little overwhelmed at being put on the spot but decided that it wouldn't bode well for her to ignore their friendly advances.

"Miyano Natsumi." She introduced herself quietly, there was a chorus of 'nice to meet you!'s followed by the rest of the girls giving her their names.

"Well, it's nice to see a familiar face." Yaoyorozu smiled before adding, "We should get outside."

* * *

Aizawa-sensei explained that they were going to do a physical assessment like the ones they had performed back in middle school, only this time they could use their quirks. Excited chatter arose from the group of teens at that, everyone eager to show off their skills.

Natsumi had never gone to school before, her parents had opted to home school her on the basic subjects as well as a few extra-curriculars that no normal child should have learned. While her classmates wondered how their previous scores would compare now that they were allowed to use their quirks, she stayed silent and wondered what sort of tests they would be going through.

"Bakugou, you finished first place in the practical exam. What was your score in junior high for throwing the baseball?"

All eyes landed on the boy with spiky ash-blond hair and crimson eyes.

"Sixty-seven meters."

Aizawa-sensei nodded, "Alright, well try it this time using your quirk. Step into the circle painted on the field, do whatever you want. Just don't step out of the designated area."

The boy's lips twitched into a smirk as he sauntered forward, standing in the center of the drawn circle. Aizawa tossed the ball to him which he caught with one hand, gripping it tightly before yelling 'Die!' and using a series of explosions emanating from his palms to propel the ball forward.

The ball sailed overheard, fire and smoke trailing behind it.

"Know your own maximum first, that is the most rational way to form the foundation for becoming a hero." Their exhausted homeroom teacher turned the device in his hands towards his students, the numbers standing out against the backlight; Bakugou had cleared the 700 meter mark.

The ash blond smirked triumphantly, impressed by his own score and feeding off of the surprised gasps of his classmates.

"How exciting we get to use our quirks, this is going to be fun!" One of her classmates squealed.

The mood changed suddenly, Aizawa's eyes narrowed into a glare, "It looks like fun, huh? You have three years to become a hero. Will you still have that same attitude by the end?" His lips formed a rather sinister smirk, "All right, whoever comes in last place for all eight tests will be considered to have no potential as a hero and will thusly be expelled from Yūei."

Panic rose in the voices of her classmates as they voiced their concerns over how terrible it would to be removed from the curriculum on the very first day. Some even went so far as to complain, out loud, to the teacher telling him how unfair it was for him to even suggest expulsion on the first day. Natsumi wasn't worried, she was confident in her abilities to at least place well in half of the tests that Aizawa-sensei had planned for them. No, they wouldn't be able to get rid of her _that_ easily.

Her eyes immediately landed on a boy with unruly dark green hair who stood upfront. He began to sweat profusely, eyes wide with anxiety and fear. She almost felt sorry for him, _almost_ , but there was no room for subpar heroes at Yūei.

The first test was a fifty-meter dash, giving everyone the chance to see what each other's quirks were for the most part. Even Natsumi was curious to see what the others were capable of.

Several of her classmates had already gone in pairs before Aizawa addressed her, "Since this year we have an odd number we'll have one group of three for this test. Miyano, Todoroki, and Mineta."

 _Well, there's my cue_.

She glanced over at her opponents and realized that Todoroki was the same guy from the exam. They locked eyes for the briefest of moments as if challenging one another.

"Go!"

The two ice wielders took off, ice trailing behind them and a spray of snow crystals kicking up and assaulting anyone who was close enough to the starting line. Poor Mineta was left in their dust, heaving and struggling to catch up.

A collection of gasps erupted from the group of teens as they watched Todoroki and Miyano race each other, both seemingly using the same quirk to speed towards the finish line.

It was a photo finish.

 _4.03 seconds._

Todoroki furrowed his brows and frowned contemplatively, he wasn't used to coming in second place—while he and Miyano had tied for first he still considered that a failure. The fact that she had bested him once before still plagued his mind and drove him crazy, even more so due to the fact that her quirk seemed similar to his own.

While the dual-color haired boy was having these thoughts Mineta, the small boy with strange purple hair, collapsed across the finish line out of breath.

 _10.08 seconds._

The rest of the tests passed in a blur, most of them testing strength and dexterity. Natsumi would admit that she wasn't necessarily the strongest person, but she did pride herself on her agility and ability to control her quirk rather well with only few drawbacks.

Her scores up until this point had all mostly been above average with the exception of the grip assessment which measured strength and how much pressure she could assert at once. All in all, she wasn't too concerned about being expelled especially when that poor emerald eyed boy with the freckles was performing so poorly.

It was time for the fifth test, the ball throw that the ash blond, Bakugou, had previously demonstrated.

The bubbly brunette from the locker room bounced up to the designated area, touched the ball and sent it flying so high and far that it blinked out of existence. She was given the score of _infinity_.

 _Don't think anyone's going to top that_. The pink haired teen mused.

The freckled boy shuffled up to the starting position, the ball held tightly in his trembling hands. He was visibly nervous, he closed his eyes momentarily as if in prayer before they snapped open with newfound resolve. He wound back his arm and threw the ball.

It landed within the chalk outline, only 46 meters away.

The boy looked perplexed, startled even, by the short distance.

Aizawa's eyes glowed red, what had been assumed to be a scarf around his neck turned out to be bandages that he was able to control.

"I erased your quirk, Midoriya."

The boy stuttered, "You e-erased my quirk?" Suddenly his eyes widened, "Those goggles! I see, you're able to erase quirks just by looking at someone. You're Eraser Head!"

Aizawa's hair was wild, floating around him alongside his bandages and he continued to condescend the young boy, "You can't control your quirk, can you? Tell me this, do you intend to incapacitate yourself each and every time you use your quirk? You can't rely on someone else to save you, that's not going to help anyone and you'll end up only being a burden to those around you."

"That's not my intention at all—" Midoriya started to object but the bandages around sensei's neck shot forward, enveloping the boy tightly and yanking him forward so that he was eye to eye with Eraser Head.

"Midoriya Izuku, with your power you cannot become a hero." His words were harsh, striking Midoriya where it hurt the most.

Suddenly, the bandages loosened and then released the boy altogether.

"I've returned your quirk, you have two turns for the ball throw. Hurry up and get it over with." Aizawa stepped away from Midoriya, a bored expression on his face as he waited to see what the teen would do next.

The class watched with bated breath to see how Midoriya would react; would he call it quits and take his loss or would he fight to prove himself?

Once more he took his position, appearing deep in thought over what Aizawa-sensei had said to him, before pulling back his arm and letting the ball fly. It soared far, surprising everyone on the field who had yet to see Midoriya's quirk in action.

"Sensei look…." He breathed, plastering on a wide grin, "I can still move!" His finger was purple and hung at a disgusting angle, signifying that it was broken.

Natsumi wasn't sure why but her classmates clapped for him, cheering loudly. She rolled her eyes, yes the score was pretty impressive but he had bombed the rest of the assessment, one good score wasn't going to save him from being kicked out of school.

They completed the rest of their tests without much incident and soon it came time for their scores to be posted and for them to see what their placement amongst the class was.

 _1\. Yaoyorozu Momo_

 _2\. Miyano Natsumi_

 _3\. Todoroki Shouto_

The list went on but she was only concerned with how well she had done, she frowned at the realization that she didn't make it to first place but there was a part of her that was relieved that she at least beat out Todoroki. Things had silently and unintentionally become a competition between the two.

"By the way, I was lying about the expulsion. It was rational deception to draw out the best of your abilities."

She should've figured it was a trick, but part of her truly believed that expelling students on the first day was something that the great Yūei was capable of to weed out those who didn't belong.

"There's a syllabus with all of the necessary information printed in it waiting for you on your desks. That's all we have planned for the day, class dismissed." Aizawa turned on his heel and stalked away.

What a bizarre way to start the school year, though she guessed that she should expect nothing less of the great Yūei. If one thing was certain it was that the next three years were bound to be interesting.

* * *

So not much going on first chapter, I know it's not very inventive since I pretty much just copied that first episode where they're in school. But I do promise that this story won't be an exact replica of the show, I have a lot planned for Natsumi and everyone in class 1-A and I can't wait to get into all of that!

I started this story with the intent of her and Todoroki eventually being a thing, but over the last week or so I've been coming up with all these cute scenarios with her a Bakugou and now I'm seriously not sure who I want her to eventually be with. I mean, regardless this will be a slow burn type fic so nothing would be happening for a while. I guess I'll just see where things go with her and the boys and figure things out later on.

Originally I considered having her just take the place of Mineta so that the class would remain at an even 20…but then I realized that, while not my favorite character in the slightest, Mineta does have the opportunity to offer some comedic relief so he's staying lmao

Anyway, thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

She wasn't a morning person and the likelihood of her _ever_ becoming one willingly was slim to none. Yet, here she was sitting by the window of a local French café an hour before class was to begin, increasing her caffeine intake one cup of coffee at a time to wake herself up. Natsumi knew herself better than anyone else and if she didn't wake up a little early then the chances of her oversleeping would skyrocket.

Currently, she was on her second cup of coffee with an extra turbo shot of espresso and slowly she felt energized enough to face the day ahead of her.

When her alarm had gone off that morning it was still dark out and she had to wrestle with herself to get out of bed, Natsumi treasured sleep and could have slept until late afternoon had she not had any responsibilities.

Peering out of the window directly to her left while sipping on the warm, soothing liquid in her mug sent tranquility pouring through her. It was still early morning so the café was filled with tired business men and women standing in line to get their caffeinated beverages to wake them up, much like she had done. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, soft instrumental music played over the speakers above her that dulled the idle chatter around her.

Outside the sun was beginning to peek over the rooftops, illuminating the city in a soft glow. The streets had been void of cars when she had first made it to the café but now things were starting to pick up as people rushed to get to their jobs on time.

Glancing down at the plate in front of her, Natsumi frowned when she realized that she had almost finished her tart. Raising the last piece to her lips she let out a satisfied hum, savoring the sweet flavor of the custard and fruit topping.

"Good morning, Miyano-san."

The pink haired teen angled her face just enough so she could get a quick glimpse of the person who had just spoken to her. A small sigh escaped her as she realized it was a classmate, the one with the strange ear lobes.

"Ah, 'mornin." She spoke quietly.

"This place is pretty cool, you come here often?" Jirou asked, her fingers curling around a styrofoam to-go cup that had her name scribbled lazily in purple marker.

Inwardly Natsumi groaned, it was too early to be holding a conversation, "Often enough."

The amethyst haired teen nodded, "You headed to school soon?"

Natsumi absently brought her finger down to tap on her phone screen to check the time, "Yeah, I guess it's about that time."

The other girl offered a small smile, "I was just about to head out, you wanna walk together?"

The pink haired teen contemplated the offer for a moment before shrugging. She pushed her chair back, grabbing her empty plate and mug, bringing them over to front counter and thanked the girl behind it before turning back to face Jirou with a small, half-hearted smile.

"Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay, cool."

They walked in silence for a few moments, neither girl feeling the need to disturb the quiet that had settled around them. The sidewalk was filling up with all sorts of people, a couple of times the two girls had gotten separated from each other by the early morning crowds, but they quickly found each other and resumed their walk side by side.

"Yesterday was pretty crazy, what do you think is in store for us today?" Jirou questioned, twirling one of her earjacks around her finger absentmindedly before bringing her cup up to her lips with her other hand and taking a long sip.

Natsumi let out a soft hum, considering the question for a moment, "Not sure, though I'm sure things will be just as hectic as they were yesterday, if not more."

The other girl glanced at her classmate thoughtfully, "You're probably right, this _is_ Yūei after all. I would expect nothing less."

They lapsed into another silence, something Natsumi was grateful for, prolonged social interaction could be just so mentally exhausting sometimes especially for someone who was used to being alone. She would admit, though, that Jirou wasn't all that bad.

"You know…" The dark eyed girl started slowly, casting a hesitant glance towards Natsumi before finishing her thought, "I was surprised to see that you and Todoroki-san had similar quirks. I don't think anyone was expecting that, least of all Todoroki-san himself."

She was caught off guard by the observation, yes it had been surprising at first to see another ice-based quirk, but the way she saw it was that there were seven billion people in the world…quirks were bound to be repeated. Though, to be fair there were certain differences in their abilities.

"You should've seen his face during the exam," Natsumi chuckled, "he was definitely a little startled…especially when I crossed that finish line first."

Jirou grinned excitedly, an almost mischievous gleam in her dark eyes, "I would've paid to see that. I mean it's only been one day, but he just seems so stoic and I bet coming in first place with the same quirk as him was such a satisfying feeling."

Natsumi nodded, waves of pink falling over her shoulder from the motion, "Yeah, I think everyone was a little surprised when this tiny girl suddenly bested them all. I'm underestimated a lot because of my size, not that that bothers me, I know what I'm capable of and I'm not afraid to show it." She shrugged her shoulders, suddenly finding her conversation with the other girl flowing so easily, her anxieties being ebbed way by the easy-going attitude of her classmate.

"Damn, we got here quicker than I expected." Jirou commented with a slight laugh as they stood in front of the massive gates that surrounded Yūei.

The two continued on the path, following the hoards of students just arriving to campus as well. Once inside the two girls exchanged their shoes at their lockers for their school shoes before meeting back up and walking to class together in amicable silence.

They took their seats, half of the class already seated and chatting quietly amongst themselves. Jirou smiled and gave a small wave to Natsumi as she wandered over to her desk to take her seat and prepare for the day.

* * *

The majority of their classes were your typical high school courses such as English, History, and Math and Natsumi could tell that her classmates were getting more and more restless as the day progressed. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the moment their afternoon class, Hero Basic Training, would commence.

She didn't mind the other, more normal, classes though. In fact, Natsumi quite enjoyed learning about different historical events it was math class, however, that she struggled with.

Pretty soon it was time for lunch, giving everyone a mental reprieve from trying to store all the information that their teachers were trying to shove into their heads.

The cafeteria was enormous, to put it lightly. Tables were scattered all throughout with cushioned seats, small vases with fresh flowers sat atop the tables giving off welcoming vibes.

All sorts of enticing smells overwhelmed her as she stood at the entrance, a low rumble from her stomach got her legs to move quickly towards the beginning of the lunch line. She moved down the line, taking in the various meal components displayed before her before deciding on a bowl of rice and vegetables, a plate of teriyaki chicken, and a bottle of green tea.

 _I can splurge a little today but I should probably bring my own lunch from now on…_

Once she paid for her food she turned around and made her way towards an empty table, setting her food down and pulling out the mystery novel that she had brought with her. The teen had only been there for a few minutes, absently popping clumps of rice from her chopsticks into her mouth while staring, entranced, at the book in front of her before another tray was set down beside her.

"Hey, hope you don't mind. This place filled up pretty quickly." Jirou spoke, motioning to the already filled tables around them.

"Ah, no it's fine." Natsu offered the girl a smile.

Suddenly another tray and body appeared right beside the pink haired teen, followed by several more.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Kaminari Denki." The blond beside her grinned, wigging his eyebrows, "But a cute girl such as yourself can call me Denki-kun."

She didn't know how to react to that. He had completely thrown her off guard with that statement and his flirty attitude, she wasn't used to dealing with anyone as forward as Kaminari and it truthfully made her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Ah, we'll see Kaminari-san."

He instantly deflated at the rejection, but quickly regained his composure, "No worries, in time it'll grow on ya."

 _Doubtful_. She thought sourly.

"What're you reading, anything good?" Ashido asked through a mouthful of soba noodles.

Natsumi glanced away from Kaminari and focused her attention on the messy haired, pink skinned teen sitting on the other side of the table, before shrugging her shoulders.

"It's a mystery story I picked up from the library after class yesterday, I just started it but so far I'm into it." She marked her page and closed the book, there was no way she'd be able to read in peace now that her classmates had occupied the empty seats at her table. Among them were Jirou, Kaminari, Ashido, and then the girl who resembled a frog, Tsuyu, and then lastly there was the invisible girl, Hagakure.

They quickly fell into conversations about this and that, the topic changing every couple of minutes, sometimes it would be about what they hoped to learn at Yūei and then it would be what everyone's hobbies or favorite icecream flavor was.

Natsumi only answered when she was directly spoken to, but she learned that Jirou enjoyed mint flavored icecream and rock music, Kaminari wasn't a creep as she originally thought he was just dumb, Tsuyu liked to hike in the rain, Hagakure was really into fashion, and Ashido loved to dance.

* * *

Once lunch was over the group headed back to the classroom together and took their respective seats.

The door to the classroom slammed open dramatically followed by the loud, booming voice of Japan's number one Hero, the Beacon of Hope in the flesh; All Might, in all his shining glory.

"I am…" He bellowed, "coming through the door like a normal person!"

Natsumi's elbow rested on her desk, her chin perched in her open palm as she watched the spectacle before her and she found her lips twitching into the smallest of smiles despite herself. Out of all of the Heroes and Pro Heroes out there she had to say that All Might was the sincerest, he was the reason she had decided to enroll at Yūei in the first place.

"Wow, he really is a teacher here!" The boy with spiky crimson hair grinned. She was pretty sure his name was Kirishima.

In front of her she could see Midoriya wiggling in his seat excitedly, _he must be a big All Might fan_.

"I can't believe it's actually him!" Ochako squealed.

All Might strode to the front of the class room, his signature grin plastered on big and wide, "I teach basic hero training. You will be trained in various ways to learn the basics of becoming a hero. All right, let's jump right into it, shall we? Today we'll be doing…" He spun around dramatically and pulled out a card that had the words 'combat training' written in bold, red lettering.

"Combat training?" Bakugou's lips twisted into a wicked smirk.

The excitement was almost palpable and even she had to admit that she was eager to get out there and see what her classmates were capable of in terms of fighting.

"And to go with that, we have these!" He pulled out a remote and pressed the button in the center, suddenly the wall closest to the doorway opened up and out popped shelves with numbered brief cases, "These are the costumes that were made for you based on your quirk registrations and the designs that you submitted when you were accepted into Yūei. After you change meet me at Ground Beta."

Chairs scraped across the tiled floor quickly as everyone raced to grab their designated brief case and change into their costumes.

* * *

She hadn't put much thought into the design of her hero costume, not as much as her fellow classmates had apparently. Natsu wasn't a very flashy person though so having some over the top, ostentatious costume just wouldn't have been her aesthetic.

Her outfit was rather simple, just the way she liked it. It was practical though, meant to keep her temperature from lowering even further with the use of her quirk.

"You look great, Miyano-san!" Uraraka beamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she strode up next to the pink haired teen.

Natsumi's costume consisted of a black bodysuit that covered her from the neck down, the inside of the suit was lined with a fleece-like material meant to regulate her body temperature when her quirk was activated. Around her shoulders and knees were three thin white rings, those same rings encircled the base of her fingers on her thick, black gloves. She wore a black Venetian mask around her eyes and lastly, she donned a pair of black laced thermal boots with white soles and laces that came up just below her knees.

Her lips twitched into a small smile, "You also look great. It's very… _you_."

Uraraka laughed a little sheepishly, staring down at her own costume, "Yeah, but it's pretty tight and poofier than I was hoping. I guess it's my fault for not giving them my exact specifications, oh well, I'll know better for next time I suppose."

"Praise the Lord above for Hero Training!" A small boy cried out eagerly, a string of drool dripping out of the corner of his mouth and traveling down to his chin. He eyed both girls like a hungry lion stalking an injured gazelle, "Your suits are so tight I can see every curve, and those asses—"

Uraraka and Natsumi stared at the boy in surprise and disgust, the latter stepped forward to punch the pervert when another classmate beat her to the punch—quite literally.

"Dude, that is _so_ not manly." Kirishima frowned, his fist recoiling from its small purple target, he turned back to the girls and smiled, "Sorry, I promise that he doesn't represent our class' male population in way of thinking."

The bubbly teen next to her let out a breath that she had been holding as she watched Mineta scuttle away, clutching his throbbing head.

"Well that's a relief." Natsumi sighed, turned to the crimson haired boy, "Thanks, I feel like if you didn't intervene then that kid would've ended up in the infirmary. I have no time for perverts."

"Welcome to Ground Beta!" All Might's voice boomed loud and clear, instantaneously the idle chatter ceased as everyone turned to give the Symbol of Peace their undivided attention.

"You all look great in your costumes." He grinned that big, bright trademark smile of his, "From this day forward, you are all _heroes_."

Hearing that from the Beacon of Hope himself was too surreal. Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt like her heart had skipped a beat. He couldn't have been talking to _her_.

 _But he is. He knows everything about you and he still called you a hero_.

Slowly, she looked up and met his gaze and returned his grin with a halfhearted, grin of her own. _I can do this. I can be the hero he thinks I'm capable of becoming._

"Today we will be doing a battle simulation, one team of Heroes and one team of Villains. To decide who you'll be paired with we will draw lots and then I will choose which team will play the part of the villains and who will be the heroes."

All Might went on to explain the rules of the game, a couple of her classmates asked questions which seemed to fluster the Hero momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure and answered them quickly. Once he was done answering questions and explaining how things were to happen, he urged each person to come forward and choose a letter from one of the boxes he was holding.

She was confident in her ability to fight and wasn't too worried about winning, what she _was_ worried about was being paired with someone who would slow her down or didn't have a Quirk suitable for battle.

The pink haired teen shuffled forward and took a deep breath as her hand plunged into one of the boxes that All Might was holding, her fingers curling around a tiny square of paper. She pulled it out quickly and opened it as she moved out of the way for the next person to draw their letter.

She glanced up from the sliver of paper, now crumpled, in her hand and scanned the crowd for anyone who hadn't already found their match. Natsumi furrowed her brows, for the most part everyone was already paired up and chatting animatedly with their partner which only left….

 _Of course, just my luck._

"Looks like you're with me." She sidled up beside the ash blond, a frown tugging at her lips as he turned to her with a heated scowl.

"Don't get in my fucking way, extra." His voice was husky, crimson eyes narrowed.

"I was about to tell you the same." She retorted, matching his tone.

She caught him eyeing her from the corner of his eye as if unsure of her and the truth behind her words. He quickly decided that she wasn't worth the effort and stalked away from her with an annoyed huff.

"G-good luck, Miyano-san." Midoriya shuffled towards her nervously, watching Bakugou's retreating form apprehensively, "Kacchan is a little rough around the edges but—"

"A little?!" Natsumi let out a harsh bark of laughter, startling the green haired teen and causing several pairs of eyes to turn their attention to her because of her outburst.

"Sorry, " She coughed awkwardly, "I'll be fine, I can deal with his type."

The boy didn't seem too convinced but plastered on a smile despite his inner turmoil, "W-well, I'm looking forward to seeing you fight. You have a really interesting Quirk, almost exactly like Todoroki-san's! If you've got a few minutes I'd actually really like to hear more about it."

She groaned inwardly at the mention of Todoroki and she had half a mind to tell the emerald eyed boy to _fuck off_ but he was so sincere and genuine and _innocent_ that she simply didn't have the heart, or the conscience, to purposely be rude to him. With an exasperated sigh, she met his eager gaze with an almost bored look of her own, "Well, not sure how his works, but mine is the ability to pull water molecules from the air, and in dire cases from within either my body or someone else's. From there I can use them to form ice, I can pretty much do anything I'd like with it-"

The boy quickly pulled out a dirty and worn looking notebook, scribbling down notes, "Fascinating! But what about when you turned invisible?"

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "Not necessarily invisible, I'm not too knowledgeable when it comes to science and physics but how it was explained to me when I was younger was that I'm able to vibrate the molecules within my body so quickly that I essentially turn into a gas myself? So I can phase through solid objects, um, I can also do it with other objects." At his questioning stare she continued, "So, for example, if I'm holding something and activate that part of my quirk it will also become intangible as well."

"That's really cool!" Midoriya gushed, furiously writing notes down, "Can you do that with people too?"

She faltered at his question, a small ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips as she recalled all those times during her childhood that she had done just that.

 _Tiny fingers wrapped around a thin wrist, tugging her companion forward with a mischievous grin._

" _C'mon! We just gotta go through here." She urged, pointing towards a heavy door with a padlock and a large sign that said 'DO NOT ENTER' plastered across it._

" _I don't know…" The boy mumbled in uncertainty, "What do you think?" His gaze landed on another boy, almost identical in appearance to him, on the other side of her._

" _Let's go, the stars are waiting!" He shouted eagerly, only to be 'shushed' by the other two._

" _Don't be so loud or we'll definitely get caught." She chided him, "I'll be right back for you." She muttered softly before cllosing her eyes and pulling herself and one of the boys through to the other side of the locked door._

"Yes, I can." Her answer came out breathy, almost wistful.

Midoriya noticed the change in her tone and blinked, before asking one final question for his notes, "Are there any drawbacks?"

"You're pretty nosey, aren't you?"

His cheeks tinged bright red and he quickly averted his gaze, "I-I'm sorry, I-I j-just find quirks to be so fascinating."

She chuckled softly, "It's fine. My core body temperature is pretty low to begin with to accommodate the ice so I'm always cold. But I suppose the biggest drawback happens when I use both parts of my quirk back to back…my body goes into shock and my immune system basically shuts off." She grimaced, "And then I get sick."

All Might's voice, once again, pulled them out of their conversations as he announced the first two teams which happened to be Team B and I—Todoroki Shouto and Mezo Shoji against Hagakure Toru and Mashirou OJirou.

The rest of the class followed after All Might to the control room while the four students set to go against each other were ushered to their designated waiting areas to get prepared.

"I wonder who's going to win!" Uraraka grinned excitedly, eyes glued to the monitors against the wall as All Might announced that the fight would commence.

All eyes watched the screen with bated breath, eager to see a fight.

A thick sheet of ice enveloped the building and those who were watching in the control room could feel the drastic drop in temperature from Todoroki's quirk.

"W-wow, this is t-too c-c-cold." Mina whined, rubbing her arms frantically to create some warmth in her appendages.

Natsumi glanced over at her freezing classmates, funny enough, she didn't feel much of a change as the temperature had gotten closer to what her core body temperature typically was.

Todoroki walked through the hallways on screen until he reached the room with the weapon was in. The 'villains' had been frozen to the ground so he was able to casually stride over to the weapon and claim it, immediately winning the match for his team.

"How anticlimactic."

"That was…a little boring."

Similar comments arose around her and she had to admit that they were all right, though she did admire the simplicity of his strategy and in real world context that would have been the best way to go to end things quickly before any sort of conflict could escalate further. But, for the sake of the class and the assignment, she planned on fighting.

"If you pull that shit, I'll kill you." Bakugou growled, suddenly appearing beside her.

She snorted, "No worries, I'm in the mood for a real fight. No cheap tricks from me."

* * *

The irony was definitely not lost to her when All Might announced that she and Bakugou would be the villains in this scenario.

The two of them were currently stationed in a small room, their paper-mâché nuclear weapon sat in the center. While the ash blond wasn't the friendliest guy there was, she could tell that he was confident and strong just as she was so their odds of winning were pretty high.

He angled his face over his shoulder, shooting a scathing look towards her and spoke with a sneer, "Don't get in my fucking way."

"Funny, I was just about to tell you the same thing." Her lips twisted into a wicked smirk, "I'm here to win."

Something in his eyes changed, it was the most miniscule change in looks but she had picked up on it immediately but chose not to comment on it.

"Alright hotshot, what's the plan?"

His lips curled into a smirk of his own, his fingertips crackling menacingly, "We kill them."

If All Might wanted her to play the villain, then she would play the part convincingly.

"They're as good as dead, then."

" _Get ready…..START!"_ All Might's voice sounded in their earpieces and they knew that Midoriya and Uraraka would be on their way into the building they were hiding out in.

The blond suddenly turned away from her and their weapon and stomped towards the door, the only entry-point to the room. She was confused for a moment, it would have made more sense for them both to stay there and protect the weapon and wait for the heroes to come to them. But he didn't seem like the type to just wait around for things to happen, he was going to confront them before they made it far enough to find her and their weapon.

"They better not get by you." She called out after him, his only response was to flash the middle finger over his shoulder at her. Her laughter followed after him.

 _Guess I'll just be here by my lonesome then. Wouldn't make sense for us both to leave our station._

She didn't have to wait long before the sound of an explosion filled her ears and the foundation of the building shook tremendously, nearly throwing her off balance.

"This asshole is going to collapse the building." She scowled. There would be no point in being pronounced the winners if they fell to their death ten stories below.

The pink haired teen contemplated her next move very carefully, eyes bouncing back and forth between the weapon she was in charge of protecting to the doorway yards away from her. She hated standing still, even as a child she always had to move whether it be tapping her feet, twirling her hair or pacing back and forth and now was no exception. She needed to do _something_.

With her mind made up, Natsumi held out her palm, ice sprouted at the base of the weapon before slinking upwards and slowly encasing in. It wasn't much, but if the other team couldn't technically touch the actual weapon itself then they couldn't win, right?

She rushed forward as the building trembled again, making sure to freeze the thick door shut for good measure as soon as she made it out into the hallway.

 _That'll slow them down a bit._

* * *

For a few spare moments she had wondered how she would ever find him in such a huge building…until she stumbled over smoldering rubble, the hallway looming in front of her crumbling all around her.

"He's not very subtle, is he?" She mused to herself, continuing onwards as another explosion, sounding very close, rumbled the tiles beneath her feet, debris that lay scattered across the floor bounced from the vibrations.

She rounded the corner and found a stairwell, half caved in, and carefully climbed over the broken slabs of concrete until she made it to the level below her, squeezing through the opening.

Just as she was about to dash forward to find her teammate, Uraraka came skidding to a halt in front of her, lips pulling back into a sheepish grin.

"Oh, hi Miyano-san!"

"Fancy meeting you here." Natsumi smirked, ice forming around the soles of her boots and slowly streaking across the tiles towards the bubbly brunette.

"Oh, I see. That's how it's gonna be then?" She sounded almost disappointed, but there was an almost mischievous undertone to her words.

The brunette leapt backwards as shards of ice erupted from the floor, narrowly missing her. Natsumi shot forward, "Oh don't run, I promise to make it quick and painless, Uraraka-san."

"Well, that doesn't seem very promising!" Uraraka shot back over her shoulder, she knew she was at a disadvantage with her quirk and the fact that she wasn't physically strong at all—Natsumi had a strong offensive quirk, her zero gravity wouldn't stand a chance.

The pink haired teen let out a dark chuckle, fully immersing herself in her role. She was hot on her opponent's heels and was gaining speed with the help of her ice, she started to wonder whether she would run into Bakugou and Midoriya any time soon. They had to be on this floor, it was where she had originally heard the explosions rattling the concrete.

Suddenly she came to a stop, eyes wide as she stared at Uraraka standing proudly at the center of twenty or so floating rocks and various other debris.

"Impressive." Natsumi commented offhandedly, "But that won't be enough to stop me."

"Maybe not," Uraraka smiled, sending the floating concrete whizzing towards her classmate who used her ice to swat away several of the pieces before turning her body intangible and allowing the rest to just phase through her, "but it'll at least stall you long enough…"

The pink haired teen narrowed her eyes at the statement before rushing forward, feet pounding against the tiled floor, the only indication that she was even there were the sounds of her footfalls. As she got close the Uraraka she became tangible again, pulling back her left arm and letting her fist collide with the brunette's cheek.

The other girl was caught off guard by the sudden quirkless violence and was thrown off her feet from the impact, an angry welt quickly forming below her right eye. The brunette let out a loud, painful, groan from the floor, she didn't have time to nurse her injury though as Natsumi leapt towards her to continue her assault.

In a quick act of desperation, Uraraka rolled to the side to narrowly avoid contact with her opponent's fist before slamming her fingers against the pink haired teen's uniform.

"Hey wh-what the hell?!" Natsumi cried, startled as she lost her footing and began floating upwards. She frantically waved her arms around, as if trying to swim through the air to gain control of the situation.

"Sorry, Miyano-san," The bubbly brunette offered an apologetic smile, pushing herself to her feet and rubbing her swollen cheek, "but I can't let Deku-kun down."

 _Deku? Oh, right, I think Bakugou has called Midoriya that a few times…_

"Not so fast," Natsumi awkwardly turned over in the air so that her back was against the ceiling, "Why don't you just _chill_ for a bit?"

Ice shot out of her palms and encased the other girl's legs before she had the chance to scramble out of the hallway. Slowly, the biting cold worked its way up her legs, torso, enveloping her arms, until only her shoulders and above remained ice-free.

"I-if I wasn't s-so c-c-cold I'd laugh at your p-pun." Uraraka stuttered, teeth violently chattering.

Natsumi grinned, "The sentiment is there. Now, how about you release your quirk and let me down? You know, before frost bite sets in."

"W-well, I k-k-kinda need my hands t-to do that."

"Well, shit." Natsumi's lips curled into a thoughtful frown, she had never really considered how much she really relied on gravity to, you know, keep her grounded and all but now that she was lacking it she was beginning to really miss standing on her own two feet. From what she could tell, Uraraka had used her quirk on her clothing and not her actual body.

 _So…if I were to maybe slip out of my uniform would I drop to the ground and still have my clothes up here?_ She wondered absently _, Not that I plan on letting my classmates see me in my underwear._ She grimace _d, Especially not that creepy purple kid.._

Midoriya suddenly stumbled into their hallway, his eyes going wide as they landed on Uraraka's frozen body and he tripped over his own feet as he skidded to a halt in front of her, "Uraraka-san, what hap—" Mossy green eyes trailed from his partner's incapacitated form up to where Natsumi was sprawled, helplessly, across the ceiling.

She offered him a small, awkward wave, "Hey."

"The fuck is going on here?!" Bakugou growled as he barreled down the hall towards the group, crimson eyes narrowed as they landed on the pink haired teen dangling above him, "Fucking useless."

The ice wielder narrowed her eyes and let out an annoyed huff of air, "At least I _caught her_. Midoriya's still alive and well it seems, what've you been doing this whole time?"

"What did you say, _ice bitch_?!" He growled, the air around him crackled and small explosions sparked to life in the palms of his hands.

Midoriya exchanged a look with his partner, while the ash blond was distracted by shouting obscenities at his partner the green haired hero in training snuck by his childhood friend, pulling back his fist and letting it collide with the ice around the brunette's arms.

The sound of ice chipping and clinking to the tiled floor brought the 'villains' out of their argument, their attention snapping to the Heroes.

"Don't you fucking dare, _Deku_." His lips pulled back into a sneer.

Bakugou thrust his palms forward and Midoriya, who's eyes widened in fear for his stationary partner, leapt in front of her to protect her from the oncoming explosion. Natsumi shielded her eyes as a bright light engulfed the room, along with it came a searing heat that rose up and burned her uniform.

"Watch it, I'm on your side, remember?" She seethed through clenched teeth. Suddenly, she began to fall, her stomach dropped to her feet from the sheer force and Natsumi shot her arm out, creating a slide out of ice so she could roll down it to safety.

Her focus suddenly shot to Uraraka who was now free from her icy prison thanks to Bakugou's blast melting the ice, her gaze then shifted to Midoriya who had taken the brunt force of the attack, his costume was in tatters, lightly tanned flesh exposed and burned raw. Her lips twitched into a frown, his burns looked painful, she shook her head, there was no time for distractions. She needed to win.

The ash blond shot forward, using his explosions to propel him across the hall towards the mossy haired teen, a vicious snarl erupting from within his throat. The two began a dangerous tango, blast after blast aimed at the boy who was quick enough to dodge most of them but he could only get so far with this strategy without actually using his quirk to fight back.

"Well, guess it's you and me once again." Uraraka grinned.

Natsumi deadpanned, "Yeah, and now I know _not_ to allow you close enough to touch me. I'm not cut out for flying."

Uraraka patted her clothing, using her quirk to make everything lighter and more suited for a quick getaway. Natsumi waved her hand sending shards of ice flying towards the teen who had just finished making her clothing lighter. The brunette dodged the brunt force of the attack, a sharp sliver of ice whizzed by her already injured cheek, leaving a fresh cut in its wake.

Ochako ran forward, determined eyes focused solely on the pink haired teen who let out a growl and jumped backwards as slender fingers reached out to grab onto her uniform once more. Natsumi dropped low, just out of reach, sweeping her leg out and successfully tripping her opponent who quickly righted herself and raised her fists in, what she probably thought, was a threatening manner.

Frost curled around Natsumi's finger tips, her breath plumed out of her lips in a cloud that hovered in the air, she narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, frozen fractals spiraled around her feet. _Time to get serious and end this._

Uraraka bit her lip, eyes wide and she took a step back to avoid the ice that slowly crept towards her. Her hands brushed over a pile of rubble to her left and slowly rocks of all size began to hover in the air behind her like an army of mindless soldiers.

Waves of pink fell over her shoulder as she took a slow, but steady, step forward and threw out her palm. Ice met with concrete slabs, shards splintered from the icicles that collided with the rock and Uraraka had to shield her eyes until the dust settled.

In that moment, Natsumi took her chance and dropped down low, using her ice to propel her forward. She threw her entire weight into her attack, her body slammed against the brunette who was sent flying and landing against the ground with a hard _thud_. The air immediately left Uraraka's lungs and she gasped for precious oxygen.

The pink haired teen straddled Uraraka's waist, ice spiraled out of her palms and shackled the brunette to the ground.

"Any last words?" Her lips twisted into a smirk.

"You're pretty scary…" Uraraka uttered quietly. Natsumi faltered for a moment, staring down at the girl who looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Uraraka-san!" Midoriya burst back into view, Bakugou hot on his tail.

A cloud of smoke and debris left in their wake as they barreled towards the girls. Midoriya reached out to rip Natsumi off of his teammate but Bakugou was quicker, his fingers curled around the hood of the boy's costume, yanking him back and sending him flying.

The mossy haired boy's back smacked against the wall and he let out a groan, his vision blurred momentarily but once it cleared he was staring into the ruthless crimson eyes of his childhood friend. A shudder wracked his body from the snarl that escaped the ash blond's throat.

"Now you fucking _die_ , Deku!"

Bakugou pulled back his arm, sparks crackling between his fingertips and just as he was about to let loose his fury on the boy trembling before him Midoriya grinned. Strange, red veins pulsated along his arms and slowly engulfed all visible flesh as he brought his fist back and punched the wall with all of the strength he could muster.

"What the f—" Natsumi stared, transfixed on the boys before realization dawned on her, "Oh shit..."

The building's structure began to crumble under the assault, concrete rained down around them and Natsumi quickly broke the icy shackles around Uraraka's wrists and pushed her aside to avoid them both being crushed under the weight of the collapsing building. She activated her second ability, her body disappearing as debris fell around her and _through_ her. Dust and smoke billowed around them, obscuring everyone's vision.

Uraraka used the moment of confusion to make herself lighter, while the ceiling was collapsing, she jumped up and used the falling pieces of concrete and tile as makeshift stairs to take her higher and higher. Her legs pumped quickly and purposefully, she had a mission and she would _not_ let her partner down.

Bakugou snatched the collar of Midoriya's torn costume, shoving the palm of his other hand over the boy's face roughly. His hand was calloused, moist with sweat, and so incredibly warm. Midoriya squirmed beneath Bakugou but he held on tightly, a sinister sneer pulling at his lips as he stared down at the boy that had been a thorn in his side for years. As he was about to create another explosion at point blank All Might's voice rang out—

" _HERO TEAM WINS! YOUNG URARAKA HAS CAPTURED THE WEAPON!"_

* * *

So this is a much longer chapter than what I usually do, but that's not why it took me so long to write this. To be honest, I couldn't figure out what I wanted her costume to look like even though it's barely mentioned in one small paragraph. I knew I wanted something so incredibly simple and I'll probably have her change it later on but Im shit at designing things like that so it just took extra long to come up with something. That, and I've been sick for the last 3 weeks and working a lot so I haven't had much time to myself or to write.

I did change a few things around, such as the order of the battles, mainly because I just wanted Todoroki to go first and then Bakugou to make that comment haha.

I used to be pretty good at writing fighting scenes but I've gotten so rusty and so this was pretty bad but I'll work on that since, you know, fighting is a big part of BnHA and all that lmao.

Natsumi was a little scary at some parts, I think she forgets at times that she's still at school and this is just a simulation and not an actual fight for her life and her fighting can sometimes get pretty messy and be a little untactful.

Anyway, I also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and those of you who favorited and followed this story! It means so much to me knowing that someone is actually reading something that I've put out and I hope I don't let you guys down!


	3. Chapter 3

It was almost like clockwork, something that she had predicted from the very moment their simulation battle had ended; she was going to get sick. Natsumi always took extra precautions to keep her body healthy and happy, well, she tried to at least. She would drink herbal teas, take extra vitamins, and tried to eat as healthy as possible while still sticking to her tight budget. However, doing those things never seemed to make much of a difference when it came to her quirk working against her. She just had to suffer through the runny nose and the nausea and make it through to the end of the day.

She desperately wished she had a quirk that could freeze time so that she could just stay in bed and sleep for another twelve hours. Unfortunately, she did not have such an ability and was thus forced to wake up earlier than she wanted to get ready for class.

Her entire body was sore from a mixture of muscle fatigue and her oncoming illness. She chanced a quick glance at herself in the bathroom mirror and grimaced. Wavy pink locks clung to either side of her face from her sweat, the bags beneath her crimson eyes were much darker than usual, and her cheeks were flushed.

"You've had worse." She reminded herself, "Don't be so weak, Natsu."

 _If you didn't get accepted at UA in the first place you could still be in bed._ Her traitorous mind taunted.

 _Yeah, yeah. But I did get accepted and I'm going to do something with my life other than wallow in my self-pity._

She pushed those thoughts aside and went to work to make herself look as presentable as possible for class. Her brown contacts were the first step, next she figured she'd do something to make the dark circles under her eyes less angry looking. Natsumi was no makeup guru by any means but she did know a few tricks that worked wonders with concealing unwanted blemishes, the bags under her eyes never stood a chance.

"Well…that's a little better." She mused, staring at her reflection one last time before turning on her heel and stalking out of the tiny bathroom and across the hall to her bedroom where the rest of her uniform lay sprawled across her bedroom floor.

Her uniform's blazer lay crumpled on the floor with a little black lump curled up atop it, she let out a small sigh and smiled, "Why do you have to do this?"

One little ear perked at the sound and swiveled in her direction, but the cat otherwise made no motion to move from her comfortable spot. This prompted Natsumi to let out a groan and stalk forward, fingers gripped one of the sleeves and she pulled at it until the feline picked herself up and skittered away, but not before throwing a scathing look over her shoulder at her human companion.

"Yes, I already know I'm terrible. I'm sorry, Kaguya."

She pulled on her blazer, relishing in the brief moment of warmth that she felt from the spot that Kaguya had been laying on before chills wracked her body and she violently shuddered. The pink haired teen snatched a face mask from her bedside table and positioned it over her mouth and runny nose before making a beeline for the front door.

* * *

"Are you alright, Miyano-chan?" Uraraka frowned, concern lacing her every word as she peered over at the girl in question.

Natsumi glanced over at the bubbly brunette, eyes immediately landing on the dark purple bruise on her cheek. _How could she be worried about me after I did that to her?_

Midoriya perked his head up, eyes widening, "Is that because of your drawback?"

Perceptive as always, though, she supposed that he took notes on her and the others for a reason so he could recall certain facts later on. A quick bob of her head was her answer to his question and his lips immediately downturned into a contemplative frown.

"Should you be at home resting instead?" He asked, mossy green locks falling into his eyes as he shuffled towards her desk.

"As much as I would _love_ to be curled up in bed right now, I don't think Yūei allows for sick days." She shrugged her shoulders, pink waves falling out of place with the movement, "No worries, I should be right as rain in a few days as long as I don't do anything _too_ strenuous." Suddenly, she shuddered, goosebumps prickled her skin and she let out a groan. The nature of her quirk constantly made her feel cold but when she was ill it was like being stuck in the arctic in just her underwear. It was _awful_.

Midoriya and Uraraka exchanged concerned looks, neither of them entirely convinced by her words.

It was the brunette who spoke next, her voice soft, "After school you should go straight home and sleep then."

Natsumi hummed in agreement before frowning, "Well, I have to go get some groceries but _then_ I'll be heading home and cocooning myself in every available blanket I have for sure."

Midoriya frowned, "You shouldn't over-exert yourself, I can help you carry your things if you'd like."

Uraraka perked up, "You're going shopping too? We should go together!"

The pink haired teen bit her lip, trying to untangle their words as they piped up in unison. She was taken aback for a moment by Uraraka's eagerness and Midoriya's sincerity and she was glad for the mask that covered half of her face so they couldn't catch sight of the color blossoming against her cheeks.

She quickly composed herself, glancing back at the two, "Well, if you're already going Uraraka-san then I suppose it would only make sense for us to just go together. Midoriya-san, I think I can handle my groceries but if you don't believe me then feel free to tag along just in case."

Uraraka pumped her fist excitedly, "This'll be fun! And I've got a ton of coupons you can use too."

Natsumi felt her lips twitch and the subtle, yet familiar, ache of anxiety slowly began to creep over her at the thought of going out after school with two of her classmates. What had she gotten herself into? She was so used to doing everything by herself that the mere thought of having someone accompany her made her stomach twist in knots.

 _It'll be fine, they're both sweet._ She tried to reason with herself, hating how her anxiety had popped up out of nowhere to torment her.

"Everyone get to your seats, class is starting shortly." Iida commanded, his arms moving almost robotically as he motioned to his classmates who were still standing or milling about the classroom. As he finished speaking the warning bell rang and Aizawa-sensei, like clockwork, slid open the classroom door and slithered in.

The stubble poking through his pale flesh seemed to accentuate the heavy bags beneath his bloodshot eyes. He closed the door behind him, dark beady eyes scanning over each of the students as they clamored to their seats as quickly as possible out of fear of what their homeroom teacher would do to them if caught out of them.

"I expect you all to be in your seats and awaiting my instruction before I enter the room." Exhaustion laced his words, though by now the class expected nothing less of their teacher. For all the naps he took during class time he should have been able to face the rest of the day well rested and with a fresh attitude. But no, it seemed as if he would never be well rested. Natsumi briefly wondered if he ever actually slept or if, perhaps, he was an insomniac which would explain so much.

"The decisions you make today will impact you immensely for the rest of your time here at Yūei, do not take this lightly. Think clearly and make the right choices."

Suddenly the classroom was abuzz with panicked chatter, what could be so important that it would affect their entire high school career?

"Please don't tell me it's another exam." Kaminari groaned, fear evident in his shaky voice.

"Oh man, I couldn't handle another one of those tests." Ashido frowned in agreement.

"We will be deciding who will be the class rep." Aizawa droned.

A collective sigh resounded throughout the classroom as everyone expelled all thoughts of something unpleasant such as another exam. This was an ordinary, run of the mill, high school activity and almost every hand in the class shot straight into the air excitedly.

"Being class representative would be super manly, ya'know!" Kirishima's lips parted in a toothy grin as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Sounds like fun!" Ashido giggled, waving her arm around.

"I'll do it!" Kaminari piped up eagerly.

"It's not just some fancy title! This is a serious undertaking that comes with many responsibilities such as being the bridge between the class and the academic leaders, making informed decisions based on the best interests of the class, leading class discussions, and helping to organize class events just to name a few." Iida explained with a passionate fierceness, arms mechanically moving about in all directions as he spoke.

"Dude, your hand was raised the highest." Sero called out with a laugh.

Iida didn't seem deterred though, "To determine the best possible candidate we should bring it to a vote. The person who receives the most votes will be best suited for class representative. Is that acceptable, Sensei?"

Their disheveled looking homeroom teacher shrugged his shoulders as he unzipped his bright yellow sleeping bag and crawled into it, "I really don't care what you do as long as you come to a decision before homeroom is over. Also, don't disturb my nap."

"But won't everyone just vote for themselves?" Ashido called out, lips downturned.

"Not everyone intends to run for class rep." Natsumi brought up with a shrug.

"Not interested?" Mismatched eyes regarded her suddenly with mild curiosity.

She was momentarily surprised by his acknowledgment, angling herself so that she was facing him, "Not at all. You?"

He shook his head, "Too much of an inconvenience."

A light chuckle escaped her parted lips and she nodded her head in agreement, "Guess we have more in common than just the whole ice thing."

"It's decided then! We will put it to a vote." Iida announced, "Everyone please write down your choice for class representative on a piece of notebook paper and then pass it to the front of your row."

"He's already acting like our class rep." The pink haired teen mused but nonetheless followed the bespectacled boy's instructions by tearing a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbling down a name before folding it in half and passing it up to Yaoyorozu.

"Who's going to count the votes? How will we know that they're being truthful with who won?" Hagakure questioned worriedly.

Natsumi's lips twitched as she watched her classmates shift in their seats, she ran a hand through her wavy pink locks and let out a sigh. From beside her she could feel Todoroki's gaze on her once more as she pushed her seat back and sauntered to the front of the class, suddenly all eyes were on her.

"I'll do it." She began to collect the votes, "I wasn't interested in running, remember? So, I guess I'm the best person to tally the votes."

"Good idea, Natsu-chan!" Uraraka smiled encouragingly with a thumbs up sent in the other girl's direction. The new nickname did not go unnoticed to Natsumi who was taken aback by the familiarity the girl had spoken with, but the pink haired teen made no motion to correct her.

As she reached out to take the pile of papers off of Shoji's desk, she noticed Jirou peer over his shoulder at her, "Hey, is that a tattoo?"

Feeling panic rise in her chest her eyes shot down to her left wrist where the sleeve of her blazer had hiked up, exposing dark ink against pale flesh. Quickly, Natsumi yanked the sleeve down and snatched the papers, "Yeah."

Jirou grinned, "That's pretty badass, Miyano-chan."

Several sets of eyes followed her curiously, trying to catch a glimpse of the now hidden tattoo as she moved on to collect the rest of the votes from her classmates. Once her arms were full of loose papers she went back to her desk and began the task of counting votes.

Idle chatter picked up after that, but she could feel the countless stares of her classmates watching her leaf through the papers regardless and suddenly she became self-conscious. Pale fingers glided over the papers stacked haphazardously on her desk as she separated it into piles based on name and the number of votes received. While it was true that most of her classmates had, indeed, voted for themselves there were several students that boasted multiple votes. It came as no surprise to her that Iida, Yaoyorozu, and even Midoriya had the most votes out of everyone and she felt a small smile pull at the corners of her lips.

Her fingers hovered over the last paper in the stack, lips suddenly downturned as she mentally read what had been scribbled in neat scrawl against the neatly folded sheet of paper.

 **Miyano Natsumi**

 _Who the hell had the audacity to throw me into that mess? Wasn't it obvious that I wanted nothing to do with this? Thankfully it's just one vote._

"The fuck is taking you so long? How hard is it to count twenty-one votes?" Bakugou sneered, a sharp glance in her direction pulled her out of her silent panic over seeing her name thrown into the fray.

With an annoyed roll of her eyes she answered, "I was pausing for dramatic effect."

The ash blond scoffed, "Well fucking get on with it, we don't have all day, _ice bitch."_

She had to admit that his little nickname for her, while incredibly unoriginal, was rather funny and she found it a little endearing. For a moment she was glad that she was wearing her mask because if the blond had seen her smirk he probably would have lost it.

"Fine, fine." She turned back to the papers and glanced over them one final time before turning her attention back to her classmates who were eagerly waiting with baited breaths for her answer.

"Congrats Midoriya, you won the title. Yaoyorozu was in second place."

"Heh?! Who the fuck voted for _Deku_?!"

Ochako whistled inconspicuously, twiddling her thumbs almost comically. Natsumi caught the brunette's eye for a moment and almost laughed.

The boy with unruly mossy locks turned a bright shade of red at hearing his name unexpectedly, "M-me?" He pointed at himself, disbelief colored his face as his classmates congratulated him.

"I can see why you were voted for, you seem like a pretty dependable guy." Kirishima grinned, flustering the boy even more at his kind words.

Aizawa unzipped his sleeping bag from the inside, an impressive feat in and of itself, and stretched out an arm before bringing a juice pouch to his lips and slurping at the contents noisily. Once he was finished squeezing all of the liquid from inside out of it his tired eyes fell on the class, "Midoriya you'll now be our class rep, Yaoyorozu you will be his deputy officer."

Yaoyorozu flushed appreciatively and bowed, "Oh thank you so much for appointing me to such an important class role, I promise I will do my absolute best to serve you all."

Mineta grinned, a string of drool slowly rolled down his chin and dribbled onto his desk, "I've got a couple of ideas on how you can serve me."

A collective grown resounded throughout the class at the comment and Asui took it upon herself to smack him over the head with her long tongue, momentarily incapacitating the purple pervert.

* * *

The morning had dragged on at an almost excruciatingly slow pace and Natsumi had an inkling that it was because her body was more exhausted than usual. Keeping yourself awake through hour long lectures when your eyelids felt weighed down by bricks and your throat felt like sandpaper was no easy task. Periodically she would create a small icicle and stab the palm of her hand with it when she felt herself slipping, the sharpness and the cold would give her the quick jolt that she needed to get through another hour.

When the lunch bell rang she felt a wave of relief wash over her, momentarily wondering if she could get away with napping for the period. The more reasonable side of her brain argued that she would need to actually eat to have enough strength to stay awake through her afternoon classes. As much as she hated that voice of reason it was right, as always.

Her fingers curled tightly around the sides of her crimson bento box as she made her way towards the cafeteria. Originally, she had wanted to stay behind in the classroom where it was quiet but thought that the boisterous cafeteria would be a much better option because there was no way she would accidentally nod off with all of the loud voices around her.

It didn't take her long to find a nice, secluded, table towards the back of the room, far enough away that she could enjoy her meal in peace without having to worry about her classmates joining her. They were all growing on her, she couldn't deny that, but with her illness everything was amplified—sounds were much louder and made her temples throb, smells were much more potent and made her nauseous, and lights were so much brighter and only furthered to increase that dull pulse behind her eyes to a steady and intense pang of pain. Her classmates were pretty rowdy, most of them at least, and she just wanted a break to recoup.

Natsumi removed the lid of her bento and frowned down at the rice and fish nestled neatly amongst assorted vegetables. Her chopsticks dipped into her meal and she pulled out a clump of rice before shoving it into her mouth. She didn't feel hungry and the cold rice made her nausea flare up, but she hadn't eaten anything in over a day and knew that her body needed the nutrition.

Suddenly, a tray appeared across from her and as her eyes strayed from the table and trailed up the arms of the person to finally rest on their face, she bit back a surprised gasp.

"Is this seat taken?" Todoroki had already taken the seat, though she supposed he asked the question just to break the stunned look off of her face.

She swallowed the rice still sitting on her tongue and shook her head, "It's all yours, though I can't say that I'm not surprised? I mean, there's plenty of tables…why would you willingly sit with the girl who's got the plague?"

He raised a brow at her choice of words, "It seemed like the quietest option."

She nodded in understanding, the other tables around them were bustling with loud chatter about classes and hobbies and the two of them were more content to just sit in silence enjoying their meals, "You're not wrong there."

They sat quietly for a few moments, Todoroki slurping his noodles while she halfheartedly poked at her lunch with her chopsticks before she felt a pair of eyes on her. Glancing up, she noticed him blatantly staring at her, her lips twitched.

"You're not eating." It was a statement, more of an observation on his part really, but for some reason it made her feel a little self-conscious that he had noticed.

Her lips pulled back into a sheepish smile as she readjusted the elastic string holding her face mask around her neck, "I guess I'm just not all that hungry."

He was difficult to read, she found that she could not figure out what could possibly be going on behind that stoic façade of his. Heterochromic eyes turned back to his bowl of cold soba as he scooped up the last remnants with his chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth.

Once he swallowed what was in his mouth his eyes turned back to her, "Your body needs proper nutrition, especially now that it's fighting off a virus. If you deny yourself that your body will become weak and you will be useless to your teammates."

He picked up an untouched bowl of miso soup from his plastic tray and slid it over to her without a word. She stared at him with mixed emotions, unsure of his intentions or whether or not she should humor him and accept the damn bowl of soup.

Todoroki stared at her pointedly, "It's better than cold rice and fish, soup is good for when you're sick anyway."

"Ah, you're right. Thanks, Todoroki-kun." Natsumi dipped her head in thanks, pulling the bowl towards her. She dunked her spoon into the broth and brought it to her lips, the warm liquid slid down her aching throat with ease and she absently closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth that a simple soup had brought her.

When she opened them again he was staring at her with a quirked brow and a subtle twitch of the lips that let her know he was mildly amused by her reaction.

"Our quirks are kind of similar, do you have to worry about drawbacks like getting too cold or getting sick?" She was genuinely curious, all quirks were different and had different side effects but they both had power over ice so it stood to reason that maybe he would have the same or a similar drawback.

"Not really." He answered evenly.

Feeling somewhat disappointed by his answer, she responded with a thoughtful frown, "Lucky you, it's a major inconvenience."

Loud sirens suddenly began to wail throughout the lunchroom, causing her to jump at the intense shrill burst of sound and she wasn't the only one, all around them students began to rise from their seats in panic.

" _There has been a Level Three breach of security. All students are instructed to evacuate premises immediately in an orderly fashion."_

Dark brown met stormy grey and turquoise for a brief moment before they both simultaneously stood from their seats.

"That doesn't sound too good." _Fuck_.

Todoroki frowned, "Something doesn't seem ri—are you okay?"

Natsumi swayed on her feet, a wave of dizziness hitting her, she waved it off and offered him a reassuring smile, "Yeah, yeah. Just stood too fast, no worries."

He didn't seem convinced at all but chose not to comment on her blatant lie as they followed after the hoards of students stampeding towards the exits.

Everyone was pushing and shoving and most definitely not exiting the building in an orderly fashion as the announcement had suggested. Natsumi wouldn't have been surprised if some people would have to visit the infirmary from being injured in the hustle afterwards. They made it out into the hallway and found themselves crammed against the window, students were shoulder to shoulder and aggressively pushing and pulling to try and get themselves out of the building—it was every man for himself at this point.

Someone roughly shoved past her and growled 'out of my way!', making her stumble forward and lose her balance for a brief moment before she felt firm hands grasp her shoulders to steady her. A quick glance to her right confirmed that it had been Todoroki who had helped her regain her balance.

She nodded in thanks to him before reaching forward, her fingers snagging the collar of the rowdy boy's blazer and yanking him towards her. The boy let out a startled cry as he fell backwards but quickly regained himself just as she was reeling back her rime frosted fist. As she was about to take a swing at him, she felt a warm hand grasp her elbow, stopping her.

"You'll make the situation worse."

Her cheeks flushed and she tore her arm away from the bi-color haired boy, feeling embarrassed under his penetrating gaze. She turned back around to face the exit, not before shooting the boy she almost attacked, now behind her, a slightly apologetic glance, "Sorry, got caught in the heat of the moment I guess."

She found that she couldn't meet Todoroki's gaze after that, but she could feel his eyes on her. All she could think about was how stupid it was that she had allowed her temper to get the better of her, while she was at school, no less! Here she was trying to do the right thing and be a better person and one idiot who couldn't wait his turn had triggered her into almost relapsing.

 _You're not a monster. Just fucking breathe._

She inhaled deeply and then let the air out before repeating the process several times. Being packed so closely together like a can of sardines was doing nothing to ease her nerves or the anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Natsumi needed to get out of this, she needed fresh air, she needed—

"Can I have everyone's attention?!"

 _Iida?_

She tore her eyes away from the head of hair of the girl in front of her and trailed her gaze to her classmate who was standing atop the glowing emergency exit sign.

"The alarms were triggered by the media, we are in no danger. I repeat, this was a false alarm. Please calmly disperse and head back to your respective classes in a calm and orderly fashion befitting that of the great Yūei!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd of students at the revelation that they weren't being attacked by villains and the tightly packed hallway suddenly loosened up as everyone began to disappear in different directions.

She let out a breath, feeling her heartbeat thundering against her ribcage, the ringing in her ears amplified by her illness.

"That was anticlimactic." Todoroki breathed beside her.

She nodded in agreement before groaning, "Yeah, didn't even get to finish my soup."

* * *

The classroom was in absolute upheaval when she and Todoroki made it back to their seats, loud chatter about the exciting lunch time rush bouncing back and forth between her classmates. When Iida entered the room half of the class stood and cheered, he took a step back in surprise and almost looked embarrassed by the attention before he repositioned his glasses and spoke to the class.

"Everyone, please calm down. Class has resumed, please be respectful to your fellow classmates and Aizawa-sensei."

"As expected of Emergency Exit Iida! Always the voice of reason." Sero grinned, but nonetheless took his seat.

"Way to go, Emergency Exit Iida!" Ochako cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

Iida was flustered by the nickname and the praise and bowed low to his classmates before shuffling to his seat.

Midoriya stood suddenly, cheeks burning red hot as all eyes fell on him. He swallowed his nerves and spoke shakily, "I-I want to thank y-you f-for believing in me and m-making me class representative but…after what happened earlier, I believe that Iida-kun would be b-better suited for the position."

The class was stunned to silence by this unexpected turn of events before slowly claps and cheers erupted.

"You know, Iida-kun really is a great choice! He really pulled through and calmed the masses today during the panic." Kirishima nodded his head before adding, "It was super manly."

Iida stood abruptly with misty eyes, "Thank you for your confidence in me, I will treasure this moment and I promise to work diligently to keep the classroom running smoothly. I won't let you down, thank you." He bowed so low to the ground that Natsumi thought that he was going to faceplant into the tiled floor.

"It's settled then, Iida will take Midoriya's place as class representative." Aizawa rolled over in his sleeping bag and peaked open an eye.

* * *

The relief she felt at the end of the day when the final bell rang was immeasurable, all she could think about was crawling into her bed and sleeping for the next three years. She shouldered the strap of her school bag and started for the door when she felt the presence of two bodies sidle up beside her.

 _Oh, that's right._

"You ready to go shopping?" Ochako bounced on the balls of her feet.

Midoriya bit his lip, and for a moment Natsumi wondered if he regretted his decision to tag along considering how awkward he seemed to be around girls.

"Yeah, I don't need much. Just a few things to get me through the week."

"Did you have a specific shop in mind? I know there's a market close by and their products aren't overpriced." The brunette smiled brightly.

The pink haired teen smile behind her mask, her classmate's energy was so contagious, "I know the one, I go there often."

"You live nearby?" The curly haired boy piped up.

She nodded, "Yeah, so I usually just walk to school…as long as I can pry myself away from my bed."

Ochako laughed, "I know the feeling, my bed is just so comfy in the early morning it's so hard trying to convince myself to get up."

They continued their walk to the market conversing amicably amongst themselves, Midoriya even began to open up and join the conversation as he found himself becoming more comfortable around the two. Though, Natsumi noticed, he was still rather shy and had trouble holding eye contact but she figured it would take longer than a couple of days to break him out of certain habits.

Once they reached the grocery store the brunette immediately grabbed a flyer from the stand by the automatic doors, her eyes roving over the photos and sale prices within to see what sort of deals the store was offering that week.

"Produce is on sale, so is rice…" Ochako mumbled to herself, mentally preparing her own shopping list.

Midoriya grabbed two shopping baskets, holding one in each hand, "I'll carry your things for you." He directed that towards both girls with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Deku-kun!" Ochako beamed, clasping her hands together.

"Thanks." The pink haired teen nodded towards the boy.

"Okay, how do we want to tackle this mission?" The brunette asked, suddenly comically serious about grocery shopping.

Natsumi bit back a chuckle, "Well, not sure how much you need to get but we could start here in produce and then work our way towards the frozen and refrigerated section."

"Sounds like a plan." The bubbly brunette nodded emphatically.

The three started towards the produce section where the two girls picked out several varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables to get them through the week. Every once in a while, Ochako would hold up an awkwardly shaped vegetable and the two girls would start laughing while Midoriya's face would flood with color.

Shopping was surprisingly fun with the two of them there with her and she found herself thoroughly enjoying the time spent with the duo despite her previous reservations. Natsumi wasn't used to being around other people for prolonged periods of time and generally felt intense bouts of anxiety and unease when the thought of going out and being around other people presented itself to her. But…these two were so easy going, even if Midoriya was a little shy, and it was so refreshing and genuinely nice to not feel so utterly alone for once.

"I'm glad we did this together, we should do it again sometime!" Ochako grinned, clutching her bags of groceries as she waved to her two classmates. They had finished their shopping and were now ready to part ways, the brunette was heading in the opposite direction of Natsumi and Midoriya had offered to carry her bags home for her.

"Yeah, it was nice." The pink haired teen agreed with a slight nod of her head.

"Maybe next time Miyano-san will be in better health." Midoriya offered her a warm smile.

Natsumi's lips twitched into a lopsided grin, "Eh, we'll see. I'm sick more than I'd really like to admit."

Ochako and Midoriya gave her sympathetic looks, they understood more than anyone the feeling of having an unfortunate drawback.

The pink haired teen waved it off nonchalantly, "No worries, it's no big deal."

"Well, we'll have to plan something in the future for sure!" Ochako turned on her heel before glancing over her shoulder, "Have a good night!"

"Y-you too, Uraraka-san!"

"Call me Ochako!" She called back to Midoriya who shuffled uncomfortably, cheeks burning red. Her gaze flitted over to Natsumi, silently urging her to do the same.

After the brunette had departed Natsumi felt Midoriya's stare and turned to meet his gaze, "You really don't have to carry my things, I think I can manage it."

He shook his head stubbornly, a bright smile upturned on his lips, "No, you're ill. What if you become so fatigued while walking back home with your bags that you collapse? What if you hit your head? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something like that happened and I was able to prevent it."

She was taken aback by his reasoning for a moment before a small laugh escaped her lips, "You've got an overactive imagination, don't you?" She shut her eyes for a moment and let out a sigh, opening them again with a small smile, "All right, you win."

Midoriya beamed, clutching the bags in his hands tightly, "You live close by, right?"

Natsumi nodded, pink waves bobbing back and forth with the action, "Yeah, just a couple blocks away, not too far I promise."

He shook his head frantically at the realization of what his words may have implied, "Oh no, I-I didn't mean it like that! I don't mind either way."

She laughed and waved him off again, "I know that wasn't what you meant, don't worry."

They walked side by side in comfortable silence for the remaining distance and it was nice, no forced conversations or awkward silences….just an amicable quietness between the two that didn't need to be filled by pointless chatter.

They stopped in front of an apartment complex that was a dull gray color and must've been at least six or seven stories tall from what Midoriya could tell from a quick glance upwards. There was a series of steps leading from the sidewalk up to the front door, chipped and worn in places from time.

The boy cast a quick glance over at his classmate, "Is this where you live?"

Noticing his slight trepidation at the sight of the worn-down building she laughed and nodded, "Yeah, it's pretty old but I promise it's nicer than it looks."

She led him inside and up six flights of stairs, Midoriya silently thanked the deities above for all of the training he had done over the summer that kept him in shape and from getting winded by the insane amount of stairs they were climbing.

"Here we are." She announced as they reached the landing on the sixth floor, standing in front of a crimson red door that stood out against cream colored walls. Her fingers fumbled with her keys for a moment before finding the correct one and pushing it into the keyhole, twisting it and opening the now unlocked door.

"It's not much…" She muttered while slipping off her shoes, almost nervous about what he would think, "…but it's home."

Midoriya quickly slipped off his shoes and placed them neatly by the door, he glanced around the apartment, noticing its simple décor and minimalistic approach suggesting that maybe she didn't come from money. Not that he was really one to talk when it came to money.

From where he stood in the doorway the apartment opened up to the family room on his left, it was a decent size and boasted a comfy, well loved, dark navy couch facing a little television and several gaming systems set up, controllers and game boxes strewn haphazardously across the floor. In the corner of the room was a dark wooden stand holding up a fish tank with live rock and brightly colored fish swimming back and forth, he caught himself staring at the tank for several minutes, almost mesmerized by the colorful creatures inside.

Natsumi noticed him staring and bit her lip to hide the grin forming, "Landlord found it after evicting this one guy that lived a few doors down, so I decided to take it. They're beautiful, aren't they?"

He angled his chin to glance over his shoulder at her, "Yeah, are they saltwater?"

She nodded eagerly in confirmation, closing the door behind him as he stepped further into her apartment. To his right was a wall with a large rectangular opening peering into the kitchen. Taking a few steps forward, bags still in hand, he noticed a narrow hallway off of the kitchen where two doors stood opposite each other—he assumed her bedroom and the bathroom.

But one thing seemed a little off to him.

"Where are your parents?"

The girl faltered at his question, her lips slipping into a neutral expression, "They're gone."

"Go—"

"Dead." She quickly interjected.

He immediately regretted his question, eyes widened in panicked realization as he spluttered out a jumble of words, "I'msosorryIdidn't—"

"It's fine, Midoriya-kun. I know you didn't know, it's not exactly something that I broadcast." She softened her gaze when she saw the glassy, teary-eyed stare he was giving her, "I'm serious, It's okay. It happened a few years ago—stop looking at me like that!"

He bit his lip, mossy curls falling into his eyes as he dipped his chin and frantically wiped at his eyes before looking up to meet her gaze with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, sorry."

"Good, now go put those bags on the kitchen counter." She commanded playfully.

The boy bobbed his head and shuffled over to her small kitchen, lifting the bags in his arms and gently dropping them down onto the countertops.

She sidled up beside him, making him jump at her sudden appearance and eliciting an amused laugh from the young girl.

"Do you want anything to drink? I can make some tea really quick."

He ran a had through his unruly mossy green mop, "Ah, n-no I would love to, but I promised mom I wouldn't be out t-too late."

She nodded quickly in understanding, bringing her fingers up to her mask and pulling it down to rest around her neck, giving him a crooked smile, "Well, I really appreciate all the help today."

His lips pulled back into a bright grin, dark green eyes alight with such sincerity that Natsumi was momentarily lost in them, "O-oh, it was nothing. I was happy to help, Miyano-san."

"You can call me Natsumi, or Natsu, or I guess whatever you're really comfortable with." She ended with a sheepish laugh, she had never really been one for formalities, that had been something she had adopted and practiced when she was first accepted into Yūei so she wouldn't stand out too much.

The offer seemed to catch him off guard, a _girl_ had asked _him_ to call her by her first name…as that realization dawned on him, he found himself spluttering unintelligible words, his cheeks flaring bright red.

His obvious nervousness caused Natsumi to laugh at him once again, "Like I said, whatever you're comfortable with."

She led him back to the door where he slipped on his shoes, turning back to face her once he had calmed down and his cheeks were no longer a radiant red but more of a dusty rose, "Have a good night, Miy—N-Natsu-chan."

Natsumi blinked, not expecting him to use her actual name so quickly, "Y-you too. G'night, Midoriya-kun."

* * *

So, funny thing is I had half of this chapter written wayyy back in December but then I just got caught up with work and the holidays that I kind of just left it and didn't pick it back up until like 3 days ago. I figured I needed to get my shit together and finish this chapter because once Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out in a week and a half I'm going to be consumed by that for a little while lmao.

I really wanted to have her have some interactions with more of her classmates before we go through the USJ incident so I figured I would just stretch things out a little before that happens. Next chapter may or may not start the USJ incident, I'm not sure yet, I was pretty deadest on having one more chapter before we go through that ordeal but now I'm not so sure. I guess I'll figure things out when I start to write it out lol

She tends to rely heavily on violence to solve problems, something that was demonstrated during the simulation battles and also in the hallway when she was pushed. We will learn more about her upbringing later on, but that was definitely something that she was taught to rely on growing up.

I recently (and by that I mean a few months ago) bought a tank and turned it into a saltwater tank so I've been incredibly obsessed with saltwater fish and researching everything that I just needed to include my newfound hobby in this story too haha.

I seriously want to thank everyone who favorited and followed this story! I promise I won't give up on this, updates sometimes may be slow because of work and all that, but I'll do my best to get things written as quickly as I can.

I would love to hear your thoughts or even if anyone has questions about her or anything! Again, thank you so much!


	4. Chapter 4

" _Our parents are going to kill us if they find out, you know." A boy gave the two children before him a skeptical glance, one eyebrow cocked high above the other. Out of the three friends he was considered the more mature, level-headed, one who tended to thoroughly think things through._

 _Natsumi rolled her eyes, "By the time I see my parents again it'll probably already be healed."_

" _Yeah, quit being such a stick in the mud, Ryou." The other boy grinned, his shaggy raven hair brushing against his forehead as he leaned forward to playfully shove his twin brother._

 _Ryou groaned, silver eyes set into a firm glare aimed at his brother, "Fine, but I'm dropping your name when they ask whose idea this was, Hibiki."_

" _Yeah, yeah." Hibiki waved off the comment, lips pulled back into a mischievous grin, "All right, so who wants to go first?"_

 _The ten-year-old raised her hand bravely before turning to the boy on her left, "You sure you can make it so I don't feel anything, Hibi-chan?"_

 _He nodded confidently, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."_

" _Pretty sure?" She parroted, unconvinced._

" _Mostly sure." He retorted, angling his face so that he was face to face with her, "Don't worry, Mi-chan, I promise you won't feel a thing."_

" _To be fair, I'm sure the pain won't even compare to what you go through in your training." Ryou commented, a small chuckle leaving his parted lips. Crimson eyes fell upon him and she stayed quiet for a moment, contemplating what he had said before laughing and muttering a 'that's true'._

" _All right, let's do this." She tucked a stray strand of snow white hair behind her ear, lips twitching into an eager, albeit rather nervous, smile._

 _Hibiki shuffled forward, reaching for her left hand and allowing his fingers to trail along her wrist gently. A bright blue ring glowed around the outer edges of his silver irises, indicating that his quirk had been activated, "Okay, the area should be numb to any pain from here on out. Ready, Mi-chan?"_

 _She nodded, holding her wrist as still as possible while he pulled out a bottle of black ink and a sewing needle. Natsumi was no stranger to pain but the thought of having to sit still while she was poked over and over again wasn't something she thought she would be able to handle, so to be extra sure Hibiki had used his quirk to erase all feeling to the designated area._

 _It took him a total of about twenty minutes, ensuring he had the shape as perfect as could be and that it was properly filled in with ink. Once he was finished, he leaned back and whistled appreciatively, "Damn, maybe I should be a tattoo artist when I grow up."_

 _The silver haired child pulled her wrist back and examined the star permanently imbedded in her flesh, a symbol of their friendship. Crimson eyes stared at the tattoo for what seemed like an eternity, slowly her lips pulled back into a bright grin, "I love it, Hibi-chan!"_

 _He let out a relieved sigh, "Oh good, I was worried for a minute when you didn't say anything."_

 _Natsumi's right hand hovered over the tattoo, allowing a thin layer of rime to form over the ink to prevent it from swelling._

 _Ryou was the next one to receive his mark and then he and his brother switched off so that he could stick and poke Hibiki's wrist. After all was said and done, the three children held out their rime covered wrists side by side by side, admiring their matching tattoos with unbridled appreciation and excitement._

" _Now we'll always be connected, no matter where our paths lead us." Ryou spoke quietly, silver eyes slowly roving over the two in front of him before letting his gaze linger on Natsumi._

 _She bit her lip, "Yeah, but we'll always be together, right?"_

 _The two boys exchanged glances before leaning down and resting their foreheads against her's, a gesture that they often did when she needed to be comforted._

" _Of course, Mi-chan."_

" _Never forget, you're the brightest star in our darkest skies."_

" _And you're mine." She answered back._

* * *

She absently rubbed at her wrist, pulling on the sleeve of her blazer self consciously to ensure that the mark stayed hidden. A small sigh tumbled over her lips, her tattoo was a constant reminder of her past; a life that she promised herself she would never return to and people who had abandoned her when she needed them the most.

Her right elbow rested against the smooth desk top, her chin placed delicately in her upturned palm as she stared boredly at the black board at the front of the room. It was the end of the day and her classmates were getting antsy, their excitement for Hero Training was nearly palpable. Natsumi couldn't lie, she too was eager to see what they would be learning today.

Today her hair was pulled back out of her face by two small braids, one on either side of her head that curled around her head until they met one another and were incorporated into a somewhat larger braid that rested against the remainder of her loose, pink waves.

Thankfully, she was feeling much better than the previous day. She no longer had a fever or runny nose but her throat was still rather sore, something that usually lasted longer than the rest of her symptoms whenever she got sick. All in all, she was ready for whatever All Might had planned for them.

"Today we have something special planned for you." Aizawa-sensei peeled away the fabric of his sleeping bag, stepping out of it and discarding it behind his podium to address the class. All whispers and chatter ceased immediately, everyone seemingly leaning forward in their seats eagerly to hear what their homeroom teacher had to say.

Once he had everyone's attention, the dark haired man continued with a blank stare, "We will be taking an off campus trip to practice rescue training. Search and rescue are very important components of basic heroism, today you will be learning the proper ways to assess different situations and how to best assist victims with varying degrees of injuries."

"How exciting, we're going on a field trip!" Kirishima shifted excitedly in his seat, pumping his fists in the air enthusiastically.

"This'll be so much fun!" Ashido grinned.

"I wonder if we'll get to wear our costumes again, kero." Asui wondered aloud, placing a finger to her chin in thought.

"Everyone settle down. We will be representing the great Yūei at an off-campus location and we must behave accordingly in a way that is befitting of this prestigious academy." Iida called out over the conversations that had erupted around him, arms waving emphatically to get his classmates attention.

The disheveled man standing before the class rolled his eyes at the commotion and sighed heavily, "Iida is correct in that you will be representing the school as Heroes in Training. You can decide whether or not you want to wear your Hero Costumes or your gym uniforms, go change and convene outside where we will be boarding the bus."

* * *

Her lips downturned in a frown, her sleeves were still singed from their mock battles as they hadn't had the time to submit changes and repairs to the costume company yet. The damage wasn't too extensive, however it made it so that she was unable to keep her arms fully covered which in turn meant that a portion of her tattoo was exposed. She wasn't in the mood to answer any questions about it, truthfully, she would never be ready to speak about it or its connection to her past. She just wanted to forget.

"Miyano-san, please take better care of your costume. This is an extension of your Hero persona, wearing something damaged out in public will make a bad impression." Iida readjusted his spectacles, staring pointedly at her burnt sleeves.

"I know, I know. I'll have it looked at." She mumbled, forcing a smile in an attempt to appease their class representative.

"Very good." He nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer before moving on to give her classmates the proper proceedings for boarding the bus. He called out over the crowd, commanding everyone to line up based on their seat numbers and to board one by one in an orderly fashion.

She lined up behind Yaoyorozu, arms crossed over her chest as the line moved forward slowly as her classmates boarded the bus. Once it was her turn, she paused, the seats definitely weren't set up like an ordinary bus, instead they were long cushioned benches taking up the length of the vehicle on either side.

"Oh no, this is not the type of bus I was expecting." Iida sounded mortified, hanging his head dejectedly.

"Guess we didn't need to line up after all." Sero laughed from his seat.

Natsumi slid into an empty space, crossing her legs over one another and angling her chin so that she was staring out of the window to her side. The rest of her classmates quickly piled on and it wasn't until she felt the presence of someone taking the seat to her left that she broke her gaze away from the smudged glass to see that Todoroki had settled in beside her.

It looked as if his objective was to take a nap for the duration of the ride, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, tuning out his classmates' voices. She eyed him curiously for a moment or two before leaning back, crossing her arms over her chest, and nestling into the cushioned seat comfortably.

As the bus rumbled to life, taking off down the street, the students settled into conversations amongst themselves. Natsumi was content with watching the scenery blur past the window until she caught bits and pieces of a conversation that piqued her interest.

"Midoriya-chan, your quirk is a lot like All Might's, isn't it?" Asui cocked her head to the side.

Suddenly all eyes were on the mossy haired boy who fidgeted in his seat nervously, shaking his head, "Y-you think so?" He began to mumble frantically under his breath, something the class was used to by now from him.

"Wait a minute, All Might doesn't get injured every time he uses his quirk. They just look similar is all." Kirishima brought up a valid point and Midoriya seemed relieved by those words, "But it is nice to have a simple augmenting type quirk. You can do lots of flashy things! My Hardening's strong against others, but unfortunately, it doesn't look as cool." He held up his left arm, hardening his flesh to demonstrate.

Midoriya's eyes went wide with admiration, his lips pulled back into a wide grin, "I think it's really cool! It's a quirk that you can definitely go pro with."

The crimson haired boy offered Midoriya a crooked grin, holding his hardened arm out in front of himself to examine it, "Go pro, huh? But you have to also think about popularity as a hero, ya'know?"

"My navel laser is pro-level in both flashiness and strength and sparkles just like moi!" Aoyama piped up confidently from beside Ashido.

"Yeah, but it's not great that it gives you stomachaches." Ashido commented, laughing.

Kirishima leaned forward excitedly in his seat, "Well, if you're talking about flashy and strong then it's gotta be Todoroki and Bakugou!"

"Bakugou is always angry so I don't see him as being a very popular hero." Asui answered honestly with a shrug of the shoulders.

Natsumi bit her lip to try and contain her laughter but ended up snorting from holding it in, several pairs of eyes turned to her and she offered a lopsided smile, "You're right, with his shitty personality there's no way he'd be any one's top choice."

"The fuck did you two say?!" The ash blond growled venomously, his carmine glare bouncing between Asui and Natsumi.

"Maybe if you weren't as explosive as your quirk people would like you more." The pink haired teen shrugged coolly.

"Fuck off, ice bitch. I'll kill you."

"Do it, I dare you." She retorted, meeting his glare with one of her own.

"Is that a challenge, snowflake?" His lips twisted into a menacing smirk.

"Not much of a challenge if you're frozen solid and can't produce any of that nitro sweat of yours that you rely so heavily on." She commented offhandedly, "But feel free to try."

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Todoroki shifting, ever so slightly, in his seat, before lazily peaking a grey eye at her, "Must you antagonize him?"

Her lips curled into an amused smirk, "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to realize how much of a troublemaker you truly are." He retorted, eyeing her for a moment before settling back into position and attempting his nap once more.

"You know…this is only proving their point about Bakugou…though maybe we should also be wondering about Miyano-chan as well." Kaminari stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Not sure if it's scary or admirable that she can match his attitude…"

"Maybe a little of both." Kirishima laughed, "Though I guess someone needs to put him in his place."

The ash blond turned his narrowed stare to the two boys who had just spoken, "What was that, shitty hair?!"

"K-Kacchan p-please—" Midoriya started, his voice quaking as he attempted to diffuse the situation.

"What the fuck did I say about calling me that?! Shitty _Deku_."

"We're here, stop messing around." Aizawa-sensei, who had been quietly ignoring his students the entire trip, called out over the commotion. He angled his chin so that he was glancing over his shoulder, fixing Bakugou with a heated glare that immediately quieted the rest of the class.

Natsumi shuffled around in her seat to peer out of the window at the large domed building that they had pulled up to. It was a magnificent building, very modern looking, but she wasn't sure how training inside a giant dome would really help them to get a feel for different types of rescue missions.

Everyone exited the bus quickly, Ochako had a bounce in her step as she tried to contain her excitement but was failing miserably if the wide grin on her face was any indication.

As soon as they made it off the bus, they noticed a figure standing several feet away, wearing a spacesuit and offering a friendly wave.

"I've been expecting you!" They announced cheerfully.

Midoriya took a step forward as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, "It's the Space Hero, Thirteen! They've rescued countless people from all sorts of disasters."

Ochako clenched her fists and pumped them in the air while bouncing up and down, "I love Thirteen!"

Natsumi couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of her lips, _Those two are pretty cute, fawning over heroes like that._

"Let's head inside, yeah?" Thirteen motioned for everyone to follow after them, shuffling towards the large double doors that would lead into the domed building.

The layout inside was _not_ what Natsumi had been expecting at all. There were various terrains spread out across the landscape from mountains, to a crumbling city, to a shipwreck, what looked like a landslide, and even an area that seemed to be set aflame.

"Wow…they definitely covered all the bases." She mumbled, taking in the absolute attention to detail that went in to designing everything.

"Wow, it looks just like Universal Studios!"

"You're right, it really does!"

"Really?" The pink haired teen glanced over at Ochako.

"You've _never_ been?!" The brunette cried out.

"No?" Natsumi answered, taking a step back.

Several of her classmates turned to her with scandalized looks painted on their faces.

"We'll have to change that then! We'll go together sometime!" Ochako decided with a nod.

"Hey, does that invitation stand for the rest of the class too?" Kaminari grinned.

"Of course!" The bubbly teen laughed.

"Ahem." Thirteen cleared their throat, gaining the attention of the class once more, "This is a training ground that I designed specifically to give you experience with accidents and disasters of all kinds. It's called the 'Unforseen Simulation Joint,' or USJ for short."

"Where's All Might, wasn't he supposed to meet us here?" Aizawa questioned the Space Hero who shuffled closer to the scruffy man, the two Heroes spoke in hushed voices for a moment before their homeroom teacher let out a tired sigh, "I guess it can't be helped then. Shall we get started?"

Thirteen glanced over at Aizawa before turning back to the class, "Okay, okay. Before we begin, let me say one thing…er…two, no three, four…five..six…seven…ah, sorry, got off track. Everyone, I am sure you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole. With it, I am able to suck up anything and turn it into dust."

"You've been able to use that quirk to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" Midoriya already knew the answer but was eager to hear the details from the Space Hero themself. Ochako stood beside the mossy haired boy, nodding her head emphatically, Thirteen was one of her favorite heroes, she was going to strive to have a rescue record as high as their's.

Thirteen nodded in the affirmative, "Yes, but it is also a power that can kill very easily. Some of you also have quirks like that, right?"

At their words, several of her classmates shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Natsumi was no stranger to thoughts like that, she knew that with both of her abilities she could easily hurt and even kill a person if she wasn't careful…it was another reason why she wanted to hone her abilities so that she would never have to worry about accidentally causing someone's death.

 _Even though that's how I was taught…_ She frowned at the thought, _They're dead. They have no hold over you anymore. Just forget everything they ever told you._ That had become a mantra of sorts over the past few months as she tried to forget and unlearn everything her parents had ever taught her as it was all contradicting to the life she had decided to live now.

"In a superhuman society, personal quirks have been certified and strictly regulated, so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please don't ever forget that there are many quirks that can easily kill with one wrong step. With Aizawa's physical fitness assessment you found out about the possibility of your own hidden powers. With All Might's combat training you were able to experience the danger of using those abilities against others. This class is going to be a fresh start for you. You will learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You weren't born with these powers so that you could harm others. If you take anything away from this exercise today, I hope it is the understanding that you have these powers in order to help others. That is all, thank you for listening!" Thirteen ended their speech with a flourished bow, leaving the class speechless but inspired by their words of wisdom and empowerment.

Those words were something that Natsumi, especially, needed to hear and it further cemented her resolve to become a hero in the first place.

 _I guess when you're told all your life that your powers were made for destruction you really start to believe it until someone helps you see the light._

"Brave! Bravo!" Iida clapped, cheering loudly.

"As expected of the great Space Hero Thirteen!" Ashido thrust her fists in the air, pumping them excitedly.

The entire class was pumped up from Thirteen's speech, everyone was ready to take on whatever situations and obstacles they would face during training now that they had those words of encouragement playing on repeat in the back of their minds.

"All right, then first—" Aizawa began but was cut off by a surge of electricity short circuiting the power, blue sparks fizzled above as the lights slowly went out around them.

Quiet murmurs erupted from the crowd of students, not a single person noticing the suspicious look that had overcome their teacher's face.

"Is training already starting?" Sero wondered out loud.

"Guess they needed to set the mood." Ashido giggled.

The fountain in the center of the facility began to sputter, water shooting out of the spicket in spurts before dying altogether. An uneasy hush fell over the group of students as they watched as a swirling vortex of purple and black opened up right in front of the fountain. From that portal a hand emerged, followed by a face covered in a series of grotesque severed hands, frenzied ruby eyes peeking out at them.

Aizawa's dark eyes widened and he quickly whirled around to face his students, "Everyone, gather together and don't move. Thirteen, protect the students."

Natsumi froze, her heart thundering against her chest in growing panic, the distress in Aizawa's voice implied that the new arrivals down below were not a part of any planned simulation event. They were an anomaly.

Suddenly, dozens of bodies emerged from the swirling mess of purple and black crowding the square below them. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to focus on the details of each person down below, from what she could make out there were more than twenty humans with more appearing by the second. Many of them, from what she could tell, had mutant-type quirks but the rest were a mystery to her.

"What's this?" Kirishima took a step closer to the edge of the landing that they were gathered on, squinting to get a better look, "Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson has already started?"

Natsumi didn't think that was the case at all, but her gaze flitted over to their teacher for confirmation. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Midoriya and several others take tentative steps forward, prepared to jump right in to start their training until-

"Don't move!" Aizawa called out firmly which made his eager students halt in their tracks, his fingers grasping the band that his goggles rested on around his neck and slid them up over his eyes. He was now Pro Hero: Eraserhead and he was on a mission to protect his students at all costs, "Those are villains."

While she had suspected as much, the weight of his words crashed upon her like an avalanche and she felt her chest tighten and throat constrict as her anxiety bubbled to life within her. Eraserhead and Thirteen were the only heroes here supervising them—it was two against dozens. She didn't like those odds at all. Natsumi knew that her teachers wouldn't want them to join in on the impending fight, but she wasn't so sure that they would have any other option _but_ to fight with the enemies numbers rapidly growing.

She chanced a glance over to Midoriya, taking in every detail about his posture, the wide almost frantic emerald green eyes, the fists clenched at his side, everything about him screamed terror but his stance also said that he was ready to jump in without hesitation to protect his classmates. _Typical Midoriya_.

"Hm. Eraserhead and Thirteen, huh? The teacher's schedule that we procured the other day also said that All Might would be here." One of the villains spoke, seemingly a little disappointed that the Beacon of Hope wasn't amongst the group on the landing above.

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, lips pulled back into a tight frown, "The trespassing the other day was the work of these scumbags after all."

The hoard of villains began to advance closer, _closer_ , _closer_ towards the group of students huddled together, prompting Eraserhead to go into full-on hero mode. The bandages wound around his neck loosened and sprung to life with the activation of his quirk, billowing out around him like serpents ready to strike at any given moment.

"Villains? There's no way they could get into a hero school!" Kirishima's voice held a trill of disbelief as he looked on with a nervous gaze.

"Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?" Yaoyorozu stepped forward, brows knitted together.

Thirteen cast a quick glance over their shoulder at her, their voice holding a note of uncertainty to it as they spoke, "Well…we have them, of course, but…"

"Did they only appear here, or are they attacking the whole school?" Todoroki brought up a valid point that no one had even considered up until that moment, "Either way, if the sensors are not responding then that means they have someone with a quirk that can disrupt the frequencies which would disallow us from alerting the outside world. They chose today specifically because we would be isolated from the main campus, easy targets. They might be fools, but they're not dumb. This surprise attack was carefully orchestrated with some sort of goal in mind."

"Thirteen, begin evacuating the students now. Try calling the school." Aizawa commanded, "These villains have something to counteract the sensors, it's possible someone with radio-wave type powers is interfering. Kaminari," His eyes landed on the blond who straightened up at the acknowledgement, "You try contacting he school with your quirk, too."

"Yessir." Kaminari nodded his head in understanding, willing to do what was necessary to help them get out of this predicament. He tapped the bluetooth that rested snugly in his ear before shaking his head, someone was truly disrupting the frequencies making it impossible to contact the outside world.

"Sensei! You're not planning on fighting them alone are you? With that many, even if you can erase their quirks you won't be able to take them all on at once and capture them—" Midoriya began, distressed and panic-stricken.

Their homeroom teacher glanced back at the boy and assured him, "You can't be a hero with just one trick." He glanced quickly at the Space Hero, "I'm leaving it to you." Before leaping from the landing and entering the fray down below.

Natsumi ran forward alongside Midoriya who was just as curious as she was, standing atop the stairway to get a better view as their teacher landed at the bottom where three villains in particular were waiting for a frontal attack.

"This is no time to be standing around gawking! Hurry up, we've got to go!" Iida called out to get their attention.

Midoriya quickly met Natsumi's gaze for a brief moment before they broke out into a sprint to catch up to their classmates who were rushing towards the exit with Thirteen. As the neared their destination, however, the man with the warping ability appeared before them.

"I won't let you get away. Nice to meet you, by the way. We are the League of Villains. It may be a little presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."

The class let out a collective gasp. From the corner of her eye Natsumi could see Midoriya physically trembling. This was bad, this was very _very_ bad. They were outnumbered and outmatched by villains who were intent on killing All Might, who wasn't even there to begin with. If they were so bent on destroying the Symbol of Peace then she had absolutely no doubt in her mind that they'd happily kill her and her classmates to get to All Might and prove to the world just how dangerous they truly were.

"I believe All Might should have been here. Was there some sort of change to the schedule?" It was rhetorical, he knew that he wasn't going to receive an answer, "Well, that is neither here nor there. This is the part I am to play."

 _This is it._

Bakugou and Kirishima had the same idea. They burst forward with adrenalin fueled speed, both reeling back their fists, the blond released a powerful explosion that rocked the foundation and stirred up a cloud of dust and debris that billowed out around the two. The warp gate faltered from the attack.

"Did you consider that you'd get beaten by us before you had a chance to do what you came here to do?" Kirishima smirked confidently, arms hardened and poised to strike again.

"Oh my, that was very dangerous. I keep forgetting that even though you're merely students, you are excellent golden eggs." His voice took on a dangerous, more sinister note as he regained his strength.

"Move away, you two!" Thirteen cried out, the caps on their fingertips popping off to activate their quirk to vaporize the enemy…unfortunately the villain was too quick. Two portals appeared simultaneously, one in front of Thirteen right as they activated Black Hole and then another opened right behind them. Thirteen's fingers disappeared into the portal in front of them and quickly reemerged behind them, the black hole from their fingertips sucking in parts of the hero's costume and body, disintegrating it upon contact.

Cries of terror erupted all around them as Thirteen recapped their fingers, stopping their quirk from doing more damage, before crumpling to the ground in a broken heap. Now they were completely unprotected and Aizawa-sensei was too busy fighting his own battle to even realize how dire the situation had become.

Natsumi whipped her head around so quickly that she could hear a sickening pop in her ears, "Iida-kun, you need to escape and go get help."

"Me? I can't leave you guys, it's my duty as class rep—"

"It's your duty to ensure our safety in the events of an emergency—such as right now—and the only way to ensure that we make it out of this alive is for you to use your speed to rally together the teachers to come help." She interjected quickly, voice firm as she fixated him with a sharp glare.

The bespectacled boy glanced around at the rest of his classmates, noting the various levels of fear and desperation showing on each of their faces before he nodded. A determined gleam entered his dark eyes as he got into position, activated his quick, and took off.

"Oh no you don't." The villain sneered.

Bakugou let loose a series of powerful explosions to distract the villain and attempt to do damage to his wavering smoke-like body. At the same time, Natsumi waved her arm and a barrage of tiny little ice daggers materialized and flew towards the villain.

He faltered as Iida made it to the exit and disappeared outside, "Minor setback, but no matter. My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

Shadowed tendrils shot out from his core, enveloping the students in a thick, murky inescapable darkness. Natsumi felt her throat constrict as the darkness filled her lungs, making breathing almost impossible. She gasped, trying to take in the oxygen that her body desired but it was like trying to breathe underwater, it was thick and made her cough as the darkness entered her lungs. She tried to move forward but found that the force of the warp gate's pull was much too strong, suddenly the cobblestone beneath her feet was wavering and she was no longer standing on solid ground.

She let out a strangled gasp, her body felt weightless and she frantically reached out to grab hold of something, _anything_ , that could tether her to something solid and stable but her fingers grasped at air.

 _This is it. This is the end_. Were her last thoughts before the darkness surrounding her invaded the foundation of her being, she fought to stay conscious but quickly succumbed.

* * *

I was so inspired and motived to get this pumped out after reading the reviews that you guys left for last chapter, thank you so much! You have no idea how exciting it is to get that notification that someone had taken the time out of their day to write something about my story!

You got to see a little more about her past and the twins that were very briefly mentioned in chapter 2 and why she has that tattoo on her wrist. I'm really excited to go into more detail about her past and Hibiki and Ryou as the story progresses!

 **Alan975** \- At this point I'm like….99% positive she will end up with Shouto. In the beginning I wasn't too sure because I was going through a Bakugou kick and was torn between him and Todoroki. But, I did literally create her with Todoroki in mind. Originally, before I made a final decision on who I was wanting/hoping to pair her with she had a completely different look and a different set of abilities. I will admit, though, that later on there will most likely be scenes and chapters that focus on her and Bakugou but in the end, the path she walks will lead to Shouto.

 **Nurse Joyy** \- Thank you so much! I'm also a sap for anything romancey/cute….it's pretty much all I read tbh lmao!

I was going to wait before updating again because I was going to just have it be one giant chapter for USJ but then I go to the end of this and realized that I wasn't sure how long it would take me to finish the entire thing if I did that because Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out in a couple days. I'll start writing the second half of this as soon as possible but it may take me a little time to get that out because I'm going to be crying over KH3 for a little while lmao.

Anyways, thank you so much everyone who favorited/followed and a special thank you to everyone who reviewed! It seriously motived me, it usually takes me several weeks to a month to finish a chapter but I actually had this written within 2 days (took me a while to proofread because Resident Evil 2 came out so we've been playing that too lol).


	5. Chapter 5

Everything was dark. The shadows around her were thick and suffocating and she felt so utterly alone and tangled amongst the dark tendrils. Natsumi wasn't even sure if she was still alive-she couldn't see, hear, or feel anything around her.

The darkness provided a quiet solitude that was almost welcomed by her, it was a peaceful escape from the chaos of the real world.

 _Did mother and father feel this at peace when they died?_ She wondered, Natsumi tried not to make a habit of thinking about them often because it would stir up mixed emotions that she still wasn't ready to deal with, even after two years spent without them.

 _Maybe I can just stay here. Sleeping forever does sound nice._

Suddenly, she could hear noises. They sounded far away and muffled, distorted even, to the point where she began to believe it was her imagination's doing. Then the sounds got closer and even though she was unable to see she was beginning to become more aware of her surroundings in that she could _feel_. She felt the hard stone beneath her back, felt a warmth at her side and a weight on her chest.

"Oi, wake the fuck up."

Inwardly she grimaced. She knew that voice.

Someone laughed, "Hey, I think she heard you."

Slowly, she felt the weight baring down on her eyelids lift, they fluttered open and she peeked up at the two boys through her thick lashes.

A soft, pained groan tumbled out of her lips as she laid her palms against the cement to push off and pull herself into a standing position. Her head was pounding from the fall and she wouldn't have been too surprised if she had a concussion. She swayed on her feet and Kirishima instinctively reached out to steady her, a worried frown etched on his, otherwise, friendly face.

"Hey Miyano-chan, are you okay?" The redhead stared down at her, brows furrowed.

She nodded, offering him a lopsided grin as reassurance, "Yeah, no worries."

"You better not slow us down, ice bitch." Bakugou snarled, fingertips crackling with pent up explosive energy.

Natsumi rolled her eyes, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Carmine eyes met hers for the briefest of moments as if deciding whether to comment on her snarky reply but then thought better of it. He let out a stream of air from his nostrils and began walking forward, not even waiting to see if his two classmates where following behind him or not. He didn't care, he didn't need their help.

Kirishima scrambled after the ash blond, a little put off by the fact that he would have left them behind so easily without a second thought. Natsumi let out a sigh but followed after the two boys nonetheless, bringing up the rear of their little group of misfits.

They marched through a desolate landscape of dilapidated buildings, slabs of concrete protruded from the ground where buildings and storefronts once stood. It was all very convincing and truly lifelike, resembling a town devastated by an earthquake or some sort of other natural disaster. Rubble littered the ground and they had to keep a constant watch over where they stepped to avoid tripping over loose bricks and chunks of concrete.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A voice sneered.

"Looks like a herd of little lost lambs." Another chimed in.

The three students stopped in their tracks, bodies rigid and eyes darting around the landscape frantically to try and pinpoint where the voices were coming from.

"Show yourselves, you fucking cowards." Bakugou growled, eyes flashing dangerously as Kirishima and Natsumi moved closer to the ash blond. The three classmates stood back to back to back to ensure that they were able to keep an eye on all sides so there would be no chance of a surprise attack.

"Oh my, this one has a mouth on him."

"Maybe we should teach him some manners."

Suddenly two bodies appeared out of seemingly thin air holding hands. One of them had iridescent scales covering her body that would shift colors every few moments, her eyes protruded from the side of her head and swiveled in all directions. It was easy to see that her quirk was Chameleon based so the three could only assume that she was the only one with the power to camouflage and that her partner had needed to touch her for the quirk to work on her as well.

The other villain was more plain in appearance compared to her reptilian comrade, she was scrawny and thin with stringy blonde hair that was tied off in a low pony-tail that hung to her mid back.

The chameleon smirked, her jowls opened wide and an impossibly long and sticky tongue shot out of her throat, wrapping around Natsumi's torso.

"Ugh, this is unsanitary." The pink haired teen groaned, slamming her palms against the sticky pink appendage around her waist and freezing it in an instant. The villain let out a strangled screech and retracted her frozen tongue, jumping around and breathing heavily to try and thaw her tongue with warm air.

Natsumi glanced over at her two companions to see that they had been fighting the other villain who apparently had some sort of plant-based quirk which make the battle incredibly one sided. The ash blond quickly took care of her by burning her vine like whips with his explosions while Kirishima landed a well aimed punch to her abdomen.

"Ow you gawe me fwothbite." The chameleon cried, tongue still encased in a block of ice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You want me to get rid of the ice?" Natsumi taunted, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward.

"I'll do it." Bakugou sneered, pushing past the pink haired teen and igniting the chameleon with a series of explosions that shattered the ice and subsequently sent pieces of her tongue flying in every direction. The scream that resounded from within the villain was a horrendous sound but as quickly as it came everything went silent moments later as she presumably passed out from the pain.

"Maybe we should go join the others." Kirishima offered, frowning at the two unconscious villains as Natsumi used her ice to bind their wrists together to ensure they didn't come after them again.

Bakugou cast a quick glance over his shoulder at the crimson haired boy and scoffed, "Do whatever the fuck you want. I'm going to go kick some more villain ass."

"We shouldn't split up, regardless of how capable you are they could end up overwhelming you with an ambush." Natsumi crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a pointed stare.

"Is that your way of saying you're scared and want to come with me?" Bakugou taunted.

Her lip curled over her canines and she narrowed her eyes, "As if, though if you want me to come along to protect you all you had to do was just say so. Just so you know, I'm not going to hold your hand through this."

"The fuck did you just say, ice bitch?!"

She brushed past him, purposefully knocking her shoulder against his as she strode forward with Bakugou seething behind her. Kirishima watched in silence, his lips twitching into a grin as he ran forward to catch up to the two, "Well, I guess I should keep an eye on you two so you don't kill each other."

Natsumi shot him an amused look over her shoulder, "Probably a good idea."

"I'll kill you both." The explosive blond's palms crackled to life with fizzling sparks as if to demonstrate the truth behind his words.

The pink haired teen snorted, "Oh, I'm _so_ scared. Look, look—" She held out her hand and pretended to tremble, "—I'm shaking!"

Kirishima chuckled nervously, moving in between the two teens just as Bakugou went to lunge at the girl. He held his hands up to keep the ash blond back while angling his chin over his shoulder at Natsumi, "Uh, maybe this isn't the best time to start a fight? We need to get out of here and make sure everyone else is okay."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right." She bit her lip sheepishly, standing on her tip-toes and leaning forward to peek around Kirishima at Bakugou, "To be continued?"

The blond huffed, eyebrows twitching in aggravation, "Whatever. I'll kick your ass wherever whenever."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand dismissively as she and Kirishima started forward again, Bakugou stomping loudly behind them.

They decided to go search for their classmates after all, deciding that regrouping and coming up with some sort of escape plan would be the best course of action to take in their current situation.

"I'm afraid we can't let you go any further." A muscular, caramel skinned man sneered. His arms were crossed over his chest, thick spikes protruding from his flesh like some sort of porcupine hybrid. He was backed up by three other companions, all of them seemingly using various intimidation tactics to throw the teens off their game.

"Guess it can't be helped." Natsumi sighed, casting a quick glance to her two classmates who were already in position.

Bakugou seemed almost feral in appearance as he was propelled forward by a series of explosions crackling behind him. He landed in front of two of the villains and began an onslaught of punches and explosions aimed to incapacitate the nuisances.

Kirishima had a similar idea, his flesh hardened in an instant and he dashed ahead swinging his sword-like arm at the porcupine-like villain who brought his spiny arm up to block the attack.

The pink haired teen's breath plumed out in front of her like a cloud, frost forming at the tips of her fingers at her quirk's activation. The two remaining villains who weren't already preoccupied with the boys set their sights on her and rushed at her from opposing sides.

She quickly turned herself intangible at the last moment and stepped aside as both bodies narrowly avoided colliding with each other. The two villains quickly regained their composure and began to frantically look around the surrounding area for her.

Grunts could be heard from her left and she chanced a glance over her shoulder to see that Kirishima was quickly overpowering his opponent. While they both had defensive quirks, the crimson haired teen had the advantage when it came to brute strength and the porcupine spines were clearly no match for Kirishima's hardened skin.

Bakugou was also faring well against his two. She watched as the two barreled towards him and Bakugou simply vaulted over their bodies, twisting himself so that he would land right behind them, palms facing outwards as a series of explosive flames shot forward.

She made herself tangible again, she needed to focus on her two opponents and take them out quickly so they could continue on their mission to meet up with the rest of their class. Hopefully help would already be on the way so they wouldn't have to stall too long before reinforcements arrived.

"There she is!" One of them pointed in her direction, sending a steam of water in her direction from the palm of his hand.

"Wow, how unlucky," She commented with a frown and for a moment the villain believed that he had the upper hand until her lips twitched into a smirk, "for you, that is."

Natsumi brought her palm forward facing the man, she abruptly clenched her fist and the water that had been shooting towards her started to solidify and didn't stop at the man's palms where the water had been produced. He began to panic as ice quickly shot up his arms, enveloping him in a cocoon of frozen shards in a matter of seconds.

While she was distracted by the first villain, she had failed to notice that his companion had snuck up behind her until she was flying through the air from a swift kick to her back. She twisted around in the air, holding her palms out and producing a curved slab of ice to break her fall before she hit the concrete rubble that her body had been hurtling towards.

Kirishima leapt through the air, arm drawn back before striking down the man who had attacked Natsumi, "Did you forget about us?"

The villain groaned under the pressure of the crimson haired boy's body, saliva mixed with blood flying out of his mouth as Kirishima punched him again, this time rendering him unconscious.

"You all right, Miyano-chan?"

"Y-yeah. Just had the wind knocked out of me." She laughed, her eyes darting over to where Bakugou had seemingly just finished off both of his opponents as well. She let out a sigh of relief.

As the blond stood over the body of one of the villains the first one he had knocked out slowly began to regain consciousness, quietly pulling himself to his feet and staggering towards the explosive blond. Natsumi took a step forward, knowing she wouldn't make it in time she conjured up a cluster of sharpened ice daggers and hurled them towards the offending man stalking towards her classmate.

Three out of the five made contact, one piercing his shoulder, one his arm, and the other ripping through his torso. At the sound of cloth and flesh tearing Bakugou whirled around and finished him off with one final explosion.

As the last villain finally fell the blond turned his scathing glare to her, "I didn't need your help."

"I know." She rolled her eyes, "But you were taking too long."

"What was th—"

"Sorry for interrupting your lovers quarrel," A boy called out from the second story window of a run-down building where he had been observing the trio and their fight, "but I must say that you've got a very interesting quirk. You know, it reminds me of someone that I used to know." Although he was wearing a simple black mask, similar to Natsumi's, she could still tell that his gaze was lingering on her as he spoke.

"Who the fuck are you?" Bakugou growled, his lips curling into a wicked grin as he prepared to blow this newcomer to smithereens.

The boy regarded the blond for a moment before answering, "That's not relevant."

"You're right, because I'm going to kill you regardless."

"Hm, is that so?" The boy answered disinterestedly, "I guess I should take care of you two first then." A neon blue ring appeared around his irises as his gaze met with the two boys, their bodies instantly going rigid.

"Bakugou? Kirishima-kun? Hey…you guys—wait." Her concern for her two companions was pushed to the back of her mind as she turned on her heel and stalked forward a few paces, her classmates were now behind her, trapped in their own minds.

The boy leapt from the window and landed softly in front of her, silver eyes rimmed by blue met her suspicious gaze and he lifted his hands in mock surrender, "I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Well you could've fooled me." She snapped.

He chuckled, "You're right, I guess I didn't make the greatest first impression. Though…" His eyes landed on her wrist and the dark ink peeking out from under her glove, "I thought it was you." His voice softened and he took a step towards her.

She instinctively took a step back, staring back at him with a puzzled expression which made him cease in his advances towards her, a deepset frown etched on his face. Did she not recognize him?

"You can come down now, it's her." He called over his shoulder as a second body appeared in the shadows behind the window pane.

"Oh man, I felt like I was up there for _ever_!" The second boy groaned, rubbing the back of his neck before lifting his arms high above his head in a stretch. He leapt from the window and landed in a crouch before straightening up and sauntering towards them confidently.

Both of the boys wore the same simple black masquerade type masks, the same beautiful silver eyes peeking out at her. They were both rather tall and lanky, not very muscular or strong looking at all from what she could tell.

Sudden realization struck her and her breath hitched in her throat, eyes widened as she took in the seemingly identical appearances of the two masked boys before her. _There's no way…it couldn't be…_

"Ryou-ni? H-Hibi-chan?" Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper as she tested the names out loud, finding that they rolled off her tongue just as easily as they did all those years ago.

Their eyes lit up at the recognition, a faint smile pulling at the corners of Ryou's lips while a wide grin engulfed Hibiki's.

"Ya'know, I didn't think it was you at first until I saw you usin' that Quirk of yours." Hibiki took a step forward and she noticed just how tall he and his brother truly were now and how long his hair had gotten. His hair now came down just below his ears in shaggy layers, curled up at the ends with razor cut bangs that swept across his forehead just above his right eye.

She noticed that Ryou had a similar style, except his bangs were swept across the left side of his forehead. They always enjoyed keeping their appearances, the things they could change at least, similar enough to each other so that it was difficult for most people to discern who was who.

"Why are you in disguise?" Ryou asked the one question that had been plaguing the two boys ever since they realized that it was, in fact, their Natsumi. "Are you infiltrating Yūei to bring them down from the inside?"

The pink haired teen faltered for a moment at the absurdity of such a thought, scrunching up her nose and furrowing her brows she shook her head, "No, nothing like that. I just—" She paused, what was she doing? They had abandoned her when she needed them the absolute most so why was she so willing to suddenly divulge information to them as if they hadn't grown a part over the last two years?

"Ah, I get it." Ryou ran a hand through his raven layers before fixing her with a pointed stare, "They don't know who you are, who you _really_ are. Just the fact that you feel the need to hide who you are from your teachers and classmates is enough of an indication that you don't belong here with them. Natsu, don't you see? You were never meant to follow the path of heroism. You know it, I know it, your parents knew it."

She felt a tightness in her chest that was as if someone had taken her heart and crushed it in the palm of their hand until there was nothing left but a bloody pulp. His words struck a chord with her, he knew they would, but Natsumi just didn't want to believe that this was the type of person he had become during his absence from her life.

"Maybe it's not the life that was laid out for me but it's definitely the better option and I will stand by my decision." It had taken her a few silent moments to collect herself before she found the confidence and conviction to say what she needed to say in response to his hurtful words.

"You're making a huge mistake, Mi-chan. Your parents worked so hard to train you and instill all of their ideologies into you it would be such a waste for you to give all of that up now to be something you always swore you hated. You're powerful, you would be great. Come with us." Hibiki frowned, tilting his head in confusion at her decision.

" _I'm going to be the villain and I'm going to kidnap Natsu-chan and make her my bride. Hibiki, you'll have to be the hero." A young Ryou announced._

 _The silver haired girl let out a loud growl in protest, "I will_ _ **not**_ _be the hostage! I want to be the villain who fights the hero, just like mother and father!"_

" _What makes you guys think I want to be the hero? I'm guaranteed to lose the fight!" Hibiki groaned, hands on his hips._

" _Well we can't all be the villains, someone's got to play the hero or else there will be no conflict and the game will be boring." The older twin explained to the two with a sarcastic roll of his eyes._

" _Ugh, but you_ _ **always**_ _get to play the villain." Hibiki whined, running both hands through his hair in frustration._

" _Yeah! And you always designate me as the damsel in distress. This isn't the 1800s, women can take care of themselves now you know." Natsumi retorted._

 _Finding himself outnumbered, Ryou let out a long drawn out sigh before relenting to the too and agreeing to play the dreaded roll of Hero while Natsumi would be the villain and Hibiki would be her hostage. It was a childish game they were all so familiar with, one that many children played together, though in this case the roles were a little reversed in that none of them ever wanted to play the Hero. In their heads Heroism was an outdated occupation that viewed the world as black and white. There was no room for gray areas. They had been taught to see things differently, from the opposite view point and that's what made the most sense to the three children. No one was inherently good or bad. More often than not so called Heroes weren't even the 'good' guys, they were only in it for the money and fame, all the wrong reasons to want to do something good._

She pursed her lips, he wasn't wrong but so much had changed since their last interaction. She had learned so much, seen enough to make her own informed decisions and had even met some decent Heroes who weren't in it for all the wrong reasons like many were. But even so, she wanted to make a name for herself so she could help to change all of the things that were wrong with the world and the corrupt system that glorified Heroism. Natsumi wanted to make a real difference.

"They paved the path to greatness for you, Natsu. They were two of the strongest villains this country has seen in decades. They left behind a legacy for you to follow in their footsteps and you're throwing away all of their hard work and everything they've done for you for _what_? A chance to be _popular_ , to have a taste of fame? For _money_? Have you forgotten _everything_ you were taught?! And don't think we didn't notice that you're in the same class as _his_ son, doesn't that bother you?" Ryou clenched his fists at his sides, his voice becoming louder as he found himself becoming more riled up.

"Enough!" She growled menacingly, eyes narrowed, "You have absolutely no right to talk to me like that. You left, you _both_ did. You left me alone with my parents and then when they died you didn't even try to find me. I was alone, so alone. You always promised to be there for me, but you weren't and now you show up after two years trying to tell me what I should be doing? No. _Fuck_ that."

The two boys were taken aback by the ferocity of her words and the almost dangerous glint in her eyes.

"It's not that we didn't come for you…" The younger of the twins frowned sadly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, right. You could've found me if you looked hard enough." She spat.

"Well you apparently moved and changed your name to Miyano. We didn't even know if you were still alive until today." Ryou spoke softly, trying to diffuse the situation. He had no problem with fighting her classmates, or at least incapacitating them, but if he could avoid engaging Natsumi he would do everything in his power to keep things peaceful between them.

Afterall, she was still very special to him and his brother, regardless of the path she had chosen.

"Oh shit, Mi-chan, watch out!" Hibiki cried out in surprise, raising his hand to point at something moving behind her.

Natsumi whirled around quickly, a startled gasp tumbling out of her parted lips as her gaze fell upon a massive deformed creature ambling towards her. It was tall and brutish in appearance with muscle and sinew peaking out from beneath torn leathery flesh, small beady eyes stared her down as it ventured forward. It looked as if to be missing part of its jaw which gave her full view of his sharp canine-like teeth, thick muscled arms reached out as if to grasp her but she was too quick.

After examining the creature for a number of moments she leapt back to avoid being grabbed by it, a thin coating of rime began to form along her finger tips, steadily moving up her arms. A small cloud of chilly air plumed out of her chapped lips as she assessed the situation and the monster before her.

"The fuck is that?!" She cried out, the tremble in her voice belying the calm air that she was trying to exude.

"That…would be a Nomu." Hibiki began, "They're awful things, our boss is the only one who can really control them."

"You'll have to beat it if you want to protect your friends, we can't call it off." Ryou shrugged, his right hand on his hip.

She cast a quick glance in the direction of Bakugou and Kirishima, noticing that they were both as still as could be though there was a slight twitch in the former's hands that made her believe he was fighting against the mental paralysis.

Although she knew she was playing right into their plan she had no other choice if she wanted to keep her classmates safe; she would need to defeat this monster that threatened their safety.

"And I suppose you will take no part in helping me defeat it." Natsumi eyed her childhood friends from the corner of her eye, watching as Ryou chuckled and Hibiki shook his head. She knew that was a long shot but even so, part of her was sorely disappointed that they wouldn't jump at the chance to assist her for old times' sake.

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised by that." She rolled her eyes, bringing her full attention to the creature before her.

The beast tilted its head in what could have been perceived as confusion before lumbering towards Bakugou and Kirishima, arms held out and fingers reaching for the two boys. She quickly dove forward to place her body in between the Nomu and her classmates, thrusting her palms outwards and producing a wall of ice as a barrier.

"Your fight is with me." She called out, phasing through the wall of ice so that she was now in front of the monster with the ice barrier against her back.

Natsumi clenched her fists, pulling back her left arm and swinging it up towards the creature's jawline, she seemingly caught it off guard as her fist collided with leathery flesh and the monster stumbled back a step. She was just as taken aback by the fact that she had done some sort of damage to the Nomu as it was surprised by her attack but she quickly shook off her disbelief and went in for another attack.

This time the beast blocked her fist, swinging its own fist towards her mid section. She jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the attack before crouching low and sweeping her leg out to knock the creature off balance…but it vaulted backwards, missing her attack completely.

Frustrated, she darted forward and the two began a complicated violent dance that almost seemed choreographed in the way that their bodies moved—attack, block, crouch, leg sweep, block—neither could get an inch on the other edgewise.

"Fuck, this is…going….nowhere." She huffed, out of breath. The monster was a lot quicker than she had originally anticipated from its size and keeping up with its movements had proven to be both mentally and physically exhausting.

She thrust her palm forward just as the monster brought its foot forward and stopped against the cracked cement beneath them. Walls of ice clashed and crashed against each other, frozen shards flew in all directions from the collision. As the spray of snow and ice dissipated, Natsumi was left staring stunned at the creature.

"Seriously?" She readjusted her jaw, eyes narrowed, "All right, you asked for it."

Her fingers slowly started to close, and she began to do a motion that mimicked pulling an invisible rope towards her body, as she did this the ice from her opponent's wall began to dissipate until there was nothing left as she pulled all of the moisture and water molecules to her.

The monster let out a huff, sharp icy shards shot out of the ground towards her but she was unafraid and dashed forward towards them, with a quick wave of her arm they disappeared. Her palms faced outwards towards the creature, shooting her own daggers of ice in the direction of the monster in quick succession.

It stumbled back as her frozen weapons bombarded it, piercing through exposed muscle and tissue. The Nomu fell to one knee and stared up at her as she neared it, her hands facing the creature once more as she summoned thick shackles of ice to bind its limbs.

As she stood before the Nomu she noticed that the ice keeping him stilled was slowly starting to melt from its left side, he was going to free himself if she didn't act fast!

"Mi-chan, quick! Use your finisher!" Hibiki called out.

Her left hand shot out, fingers wrapping firmly around the throat of the Nomu while she made a fist with her right hand. She concentrated hard on her fist, using her ability to turn only that part of her body intangible. It wasn't something she did very often because of the strain it put on her body and the killer headache that usually came from the intense focus she needed to perform such a task. She pulled back her fist and thrust it forward, straight into the chest of the creature. She could feel it's beating heart and curled her fingers around the muscle, she squeezed it gently but then hesitated. This was the move she had practiced as a child, but she had never actually taken a life before…though she could reason that the situation was dire enough now to call for such a move if she wanted to keep her friends safe.

 _But still…_

Her parents had taken numerous lives in the past, they had felt no regret or any sort of remorse for their actions and she was afraid that once she took her first life, once she put an end to this deformed being that she wouldn't be much different from them.

"Destroy it." Ryou urged from behind her, his words sent goosebumps prickling at her exposed skin.

"The fuck are you doing?!" Bakugou's voice rang out, angry and true, bringing her out of her own thoughts. His mind had snapped out of the mental paralysis but his body was still stiff, unable to move completely just yet.

The first thing she noticed was the creature before her, staring up at her with…mismatched eyes. A gasp escaped her and she immediately untangled her fingers from the monster's heart, pulling herself out of his chest and falling backwards.

The vision of the horrendous creature quickly faded away, leaving a bruised and panting Todoroki. His uniform was ripped, chest exposed and she could already tell that a good portion of his pale skin was beginning to turn various shades of purple and blue from their fight.

Her eyes widened and she found that she was unable to meet his gaze, instead she snapped her attention to the twins so fast that she could hear the little bones in her neck cracking from the stress, "You used it on me. I can't believe you used your Quirk on _me_!"

Hibiki offered her an apologetic smile, raising his hands in mock surrender while his brother simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "It needed to be done, they needed to see the kind of person you truly are and that was the quickest way to do it."

Natsumi felt her chest constrict, her breath hitched in her throat, "I…you…" She was at a loss for words, something that typically didn't happen but in her momentary shock over what he had proclaimed…she just couldn't muster enough mental strength to come up with something to respond with.

Bakugou and Kirishima broke free just as the two boys darted off, muttering something about too many heroes and being outnumbered. The ash blond chased after them while Kirishima ran across the field to assess the damage that Todoroki had taken. He brushed past the pink haired teen and crouched down to check the heterochromic boy for any serious injuries, though it was impossible to tell whether there was any internal bleeding but thankfully most of his wounds looked rather superficial.

The rest of the day passed by in a daze, colors and sounds all blurred together and her thoughts were a jumbled mess, impossible to untangle. She vaguely recalled reinforcements arriving with Iida leading the way, many of the villains were captured but quite a few of them were able to make their escape at the last minute. From what she could remember there weren't very many injuries and absolutely no casualties—but still, the thought of what she had almost done to Todoroki…that she almost…

Natsumi bit her lip and dug her nails so deeply into the palm of her hand that she felt them imbed themselves into her flesh from the force. She couldn't even look at him now but could feel his icy stare on her even now as he was being checked out by the medics.

 _How am I going to show my face in class after this shit show? She_ mentally groaned, feeling ashamed that she hadn't realized sooner that she was under Ryou and Hibiki's illusions.

"Miyano-san, a word, if you will."

Natsumi pulled herself to her feet, eyes trailing towards the figure that stood across from her, "Ah, Kayama-sensei. What can I help you with?"

The 18+ Hero stood before her, her eyes softened as she stared down at her student and she offered the young girl an apologetic smile, "I hate being the bearer of bad news, especially when it's to someone who is such a pleasure to have in class but…due to the events witnessed today we are being forced to reevaluate your application to Yūei."

"W-what?" Wavy pink locks fell over her shoulder as she lurched forward, startled by what her teacher had just said, "I…can you clarify what you mean by that?"

Kayama-sensei's lips pulled back into a small frown, "I'm sorry, Miyano-san. At this moment you are hereby suspended from Yūei, we will contact you once a final decision has been made whether or not you will be permitted to return to school."

* * *

Soooo….we got to see the twins again! But sadly it wasn't on such great terms, no cute reunions between the three childhood friends here lol. You also got to see more of their quirks which work in conjunction with each other. Ryou essentially casts illusions and can make you see anything he wishes while Hibiki can make you feel (or not feel, as evidenced in last chapter) anything he'd like—so for example, Ryou was able to make her believe that what she was seeing was a Nomu so when she would strike it Hibiki would make her feel the muscles and leathery skin of the creature. So it's pretty easy to believe their illusions are real when they work together to create them.

Not sure if anyone has seen Children of the Whales, but I imagine them to look just like Shikoku and Shikon with the exception that they have silver eyes here instead.

I'm a little mad at myself because I had the next 3-4 chapters fully planned out, written down on some paper and now I think my boyfriend may have accidentally thrown it away when we were cleaning the apartment the other day so now I need to try and remember everything that I wanted to write out for the next chapter.

I've been slowly writing this chapter over the last few weeks and I especially had more time after beating Kingdom Hearts 3 (no spoilers but that ending was bullshit js). I also started a new job so life has been pretty busy and I've been trying to find the time to sit down and write even if it's just a couple of paragraphs a day.

Also, I realized after I posted last chapter that I had forgotten a few key scenes in my haste to get something posted before KH3 came out so I went back and edited the end a little to fix what I had forgotten to add in.

I want to thank everyone who favorited/followed and reviewed last chapter! It means absolutely everything to me and is honestly the reason why I push myself to write as often as possible, even if it's just a little bit here and there, because I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long for the next chapter lol. So thank you again, I love you all! Please feel free to review and let me know what you think or if you have any questions about anything!


	6. Chapter 6

Natsumi navigated the next couple of days in a daze, almost as if her autopilot switch had been turned on and she was no longer in charge of making her own decisions. A fog had settled over her, she didn't even realize how much she truly enjoyed her time at Yūei, as short as it was, until she was no longer permitted on campus.

It had only been two days since the USJ attack and she had done nothing but stew in her thoughts, replaying the conversations she had with Hibiki and Ryou over and over again. Each time she would come up with different scenarios, things that she would have done or said differently if she had the chance to go back in time.

She missed her classmates, her teachers, and just all around having a routine schedule to follow. At home she wasn't expected to do things at certain times of the day, hell, she could just lay around in her pajamas until it was time for bed again and no one was around to tell her any differently. In fact, that was exactly how she had spent her last two days at home—in sweatpants and an oversized sweater, wrapped in her comforter and overthinking all of her life's decisions.

" _Natsu, don't you see? You were never meant to follow the path of heroism. You know it, I know it, your parents knew it."_

"Maybe he was right." She mumbled, pulling her comforter tighter around her as she sat in the middle of her living room floor staring at the blank television screen.

She found immense comfort in her dreams and spent a majority of her time at home sleeping the days away. During the few hours that she permitted her body to be awake she would lay on the floor and stare at nothing in particular and when that proved to be too much for her she would down half a bottle of Nyquil to put herself to sleep. Being awake meant more time spent with her thoughts and that was something she wasn't ready to do, she had never been very good at confronting her feelings.

Natsumi typically wasn't the type to sit around and marinate in her depression and dark thoughts but at this point there was nothing else for her to do. She tried to do the right thing and be a better person, better than what her parents had wanted for her, better than what was expected of her. But, as it turned out, maybe she really wasn't destined for greatness. Maybe she was fated to wind up just like her parents. Maybe she should've just waited for Ryou and Hibiki to come for her.

"Ugh, why am I stuck in this waking nightmare? Who did I piss off in my past life?" She groaned, running her fingers through her tangled locks and pulling hard at the knots out of frustration.

A loud gurgle caught her attention, her arms quickly wrapping around her sides in an effort to soothe her aching stomach. The growls became louder and the pain was more pronounced, no amount of sleep would take away the aches of an empty stomach.

With a tired groan, Natsumi shed her comforter and shuffled across the living room towards the kitchen after realizing that the only way to make herself feel better would be to stop denying it the nutrition that her body desperately sought.

Pale fingers wrapped around the brass knob of one of her cabinets, yanking it open to reveal empty shelves inside. A sigh escaped through her parted lips as she tried the next one. Empty. Empty. _Empty_.

"Shit." When was the last time she had gone shopping?

"Oh right, it was when I went with Uraraka-chan and Midoriya-kun. Guess I underestimated how much I would eat in a week."

Slumping her shoulders in defeat, the pink haired teen made her way to the bathroom where she took one glance at her appearance in the mirror and decided that the knots in her hair were not worth the time and frustration so, instead, she snatched a hair tie off of the cluttered counter and pulled her wavy locks into a messy bun.

She shed her sweatpants and pulled on a pair of black leggings, deciding that she'd keep the oversized navy knitted sweater that she had already been wearing on. Sure, it was the middle of Spring and the weather had been rather warm, but due to her quirk she always felt frigid in her own skin.

Shoving her feet into her black boots at the door, Natsumi quickly laced them up and snatched her small black purse from the hooks embedded in the wall by the door.

* * *

 _I shouldn't spend too much, just grab a few cheap essentials to get me through the week. Maybe some ramen? Definitely should probably get some vegetables and maybe some fruit. What're the sales this week?_

The hand basket hung loosely from her right arm as she ambled through the produce section, face scrunched up in concentration as she mentally made a note of things that were on sale and what she could realistically afford with her budget.

 _Maybe I should start looking for a part time job. The money my parents had stashed away won't last me forever._

She placed several different vegetables into her basket such as a cabbage, radishes, and a bag of carrots before moving on. When she shopped she liked to keep her total below a certain amount, the less money she spent the better because she needed to make sure that her money stash would last her as long as possible even with paying rent, utilities, and groceries.

Though she was lucky that the owner of the building that she lived in felt like he was indebted to her parents who had helped him keep from losing the building years ago so he let her live there for only half of the usual price. Natsumi was sure that if she asked or if she fell on hard times that he would allow her to live there for free but she already felt guilty about the hefty discount he was already giving her, she didn't want to feel like she was taking advantage of him.

"The fuck are you doing here?" A familiar voice growled out from beside her just as she was reaching out to grab a package of noodles off of the store shelf.

She recoiled back in surprise, glancing to her left at the ash blond who fixed her with an unreadable stare as she quickly grabbed a couple noodle packages and dropped them into her basket of ingredients.

"Shopping." She answered coolly.

He rolled his eyes, "No shit."

"The better question is, what're _you_ doing here? Don't you live on the other side of town?" She turned to face him, brown eyes narrowed questioningly at him.

"S'not like I had a fucking choice." He hissed, glaring over his shoulder at an older woman who was browsing the shelves further down the isle. The woman in question was of average height and had wild ash blond hair styled similarly to Bakugou's.

"Ah, how cute. Shopping with mommy?" Natsumi teased, leaning forward with a cheeky grin.

"I'll kill you right here, right now, snowflake." Bakugou sneered, carmine eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Oh Katsuki~! Who is this, a friend from school?" His mother practically glided over to them, ruby eyes dancing between her son and the pink haired teen.

"Hi, I'm Miyano Natsumi. We're in the same class." She answered, lips quirking into a polite smile.

"Oh, it's you!"

Natsumi's smile faltered. What did that mean? Had word gotten out that the daughter of two of Japan's most prolific villains had been accepted into Yuei's hero course? She knew that it couldn't stay a secret forever but having to come face to face with such a reality was something that she wasn't ready to confront. She wasn't ready to confront a lot of things, but this situation was definitely at the top of the list of things she'd rather die than do.

"Katsu-chan has told me about you, you're the one who protected him and your other classmate during that villain attack." His mother went on to explain.

Natsumi had not been expecting that. Bakugou hardly seemed like the type to broadcast his moments of vulnerability, even if it was just to his mother. She cast a quick glance in the boy's direction to find that he was glaring heatedly at the back of his mother's head.

"Oh, I didn't do much, Bakugou-san." The pink haired teen bit her lip, waving it off dismissively.

"Nonsense! If it weren't for you who knows what those villainous brats would've done to my pain in the ass son."

Natsumi nearly snorted at the way the older woman talked about her son who was growing angrier and angrier by the moment.

"Shut the fu—"

"Be quiet, brat!" She immediately interjected, turning her head swiftly to give her son a warning look before turning back to the teen girl before her, "I would love if you would come over for dinner tonight, I understand that it's short notice but consider it my way of thanking you for keeping this brat safe."

Taken aback by the invitation, Natsumi smiled and shook her head politely, "Oh no, I couldn't possibly im—"

"Nonsense, it would be no trouble at all. I'll have Katsuki and my husband come pick you up tonight, where do you live?"

With no room left to argue, the teen conceded and accepted the dinner invitation. She gave the older woman her address and apartment number and waved as she went to checkout, leaving just Natsumi and Bakugou alone in the aisle.

His lips were pulled into a frown and he gave her the impression that he wanted to say something but, instead, he expelled a stream of air from his nostrils and strode past her with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. She didn't have much time to ponder his behavior though as the realization that she was going to be going to the Bakugou household in just a few short hours settled over her.

 _Why is this happening? Why couldn't I just say_ _ **no**_ _?_

She quickly finished her shopping and paid before rushing back home to put her groceries away and mentally prepare herself for the night that was ahead of her.

* * *

Pacing her apartment, Natsumi found herself feeling more and more nauseous as the minutes ticked by turning into hours, the time that Bakugou Mitsuki had given her slowly inching closer and closer. _Why_ had she been so set on having her over for dinner? What would they even talk about? Was her lineage common knowledge at this point or had the school kept it covered up? She wouldn't have been surprised either way, if they had spilled the beans then it would've been because people would've wanted answers as to why they had expelled one of their students. But at the same time, keeping the fact that they had accepted and allowed the daughter of Spectre and Hydra to enroll in the first place seemed like a better option in the eyes of the school—that way people wouldn't realize just how badly they had screwed up to begin with.

From the corner of her eye she noticed a little black bundle wake and begin her post nap stretches on the couch, letting out a wide yawn followed by a small squeak.

"Hungry?"

The cat made a sound that was halfway between a purr and a chirp which was the confirmation that the teen needed. Happy for the distraction, Natsumi strode into the kitchen and pulled one of the bottom cabinets opened, grabbing a can of wet cat food out and pulling on the pull tab on the lid to open it.

Kaguya sprung from the couch and dashed over to the girl, weaving in and out of her legs eagerly.

"You act as if I starve you." Natsumi laughed, dumping the shredded meat from the can onto a small plate before setting it down for the cat to ravenously chow down on.

 _Knock. Knock knock._

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of knuckles rapping against her front door, her stomach twisted in knots at the thought of who would be on the other side of it. Were they going to berate and laugh at her for thinking she could join the ranks of the heroes that they adored? She just didn't know and it was driving her crazy just thinking about all of the possibilities of what could be said and done over the next couple of hours.

Tugging at a stray strand of curled pastel pink hair, Natsumi shuffled towards the door while swallowing back the bile that was attempting to rise from the pit of her stomach. Pale fingers tentatively wrapped around the doorknob before twisting the cool metal and pulling it open to reveal an annoyed looking Bakugou Katsuki on the other side.

When she opened the door she found him staring off down the hallway at nothing in particular, his lips pursed. Carmine irises slid in her direction as soon as the door opened and he gave her a once over before scowling, "Took you long enough."

He was wearing a red buffalo plaid button up shirt and a pair of black pants, Natsumi was sure that his mother had probably made him dress nicely for the occasion.

"You're lucky I even opened the door knowing your ass was on the other side." She retorted with a roll of her eyes.

Natsumi had wanted to look her best as well, not for the boy standing before her, but for his mother who had been so eager and thoughtful to invite her over in the first place. She had curled her hair, styling it into ringlets that cascaded over her shoulders in thick waves. The teen didn't own too many feminine outfits though as she did tend to wear pretty much the same thing, but she had been able to dig out a nice form fitting sweater from her pile. It was a deep crimson knitted sweater that opened up to a wide neckline, exposing her shoulders. She wore a pair of black leggings and finished off the simple look with a pair of knee high black boots with red trim.

He snorted, eyeing her thick sweater judgingly, "You know winter's over, right?"

"I'm always cold regardless of what the weather outside is like."

"Tch, whatever." He turned on his heel and began to stalk down the hallway towards the stairwell that would take him down to where his father had parked the car, not even glancing back to see whether she was following or not.

Natsumi closed the door behind her, locking it for good measure, before hurrying after him. He was much taller than she was so she needed to jog to catch up to his long strides, something he noticed quickly, a small smirk twitching at the corners of his lips.

* * *

The ride back to the Bakugou residence was rather awkward as her classmate was forced to sit in the back with her per his father's request, stating it would be rude to leave Natsumi by herself back there, despite the ash blond's protests on the matter.

His house was much more spectacular than she could have ever imagined. It was a large three story tan brick house with large dark windows and bright green perfectly manicured bushes out front lining the sidewalk up to the front door.

"You coming or what, snowflake?" Bakugou called out over his shoulder, him and his father already by the front door.

Natsumi was pulled out of her thoughts by his comment, pushing her awe aside and quickening her pace to catch up to the two already making their way inside.

The inside of the home was just as immaculate and beautiful as the outside and she couldn't believe that someone like _Bakugou_ could actually live in such a nice home. Everything was bright and inviting, the warmth that hit her upon entering almost knocked her back and she had to collect herself before venturing forward.

"Natsumi-chan, so happy you made it!" Bakugou Mitsuki popped her head out of a doorway that Natsumi could only presume led to the kitchen, the older woman drying her hands on a blue polka dotted dish towel.

"Of course, thank you for inviting me." She responded politely, "Do you need help with anything?"

"Oh no, no, you're a guest in this household. Besides," She leaned forward with a grin, "that's what this brat is for." She thrust her thumb in Bakugou's direction, he scowled.

"Go set the table." She commanded her son.

"Fuck off hag, do it yourself."

"Don't fucking argue with me."

Watching Bakugou and his mother argue with each other over something so trivial as setting the table was an incredible treat to see because it was just completely expected. It was an interaction that she wasn't surprised by at all, Bakugou's attitude had clearly been inherited from his mother, although from what Natsumi could tell, the older woman at least knew when to be polite and civil whereas her son was severely lacking in that department.

The older woman clenched her fist and brought it down on her son's head, he let out a loud string of expletives before stomping off towards the dining room to set the table.

"I know my son can be such a little shit, thank you for putting up with his shitty attitude at school." Bakugou Mitsuki's lips quirked into a small smirk as she turned her attention to the pink haired teen standing behind her.

"We all just sort of ignore him most of the time, though every once in a while when I'm feeling confrontational I'll egg him on." Natsumi laughed sheepishly before a feeling of defeat overcame her and she let out a sigh and mumbled, "Though, I guess I won't have to worry about that anymore."

The older woman frowned for the briefest of moments before placing the palms of her hands on Natsumi's shoulders, forcing the girl to meet her gaze, "Buck up, kid. I don't know the full story but from what I've heard from Katsuki it sounds like it's all just one big misunderstanding. I'm sure you'll get the 'okay' to head back to class soon enough once they're done with their investigations."

"Oi, table's ready. Let's eat." Bakugou must have popped back into the room while she and his mother were talking, he was positioned up against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest and an impatient look in his carmine eyes.

Natsumi could visibly see a vein throb on Mitsuki's forehead, the corners of her eyes twitching in irritation, "If you're so eager to eat then why don't you go check and see if everything is ready?"

"Whatever." He pushed off of the doorframe and disappeared once more.

"We've been trying to teach him some manners but he's so goddamn stubborn." She let out an exasperated sigh, closing her eyes momentarily before motioning for Natsumi to follow her into the dining room where Bakugou and her husband, Masaru, were filling up everyone's cups with freshly brewed tea.

"Katsuki told me that because of your Quirk you're usually very cold temperature-wise so I kept that in mind when deciding on what to make for dinner tonight. I hope you like Sukiyaki." She smiled, gesturing to the large pot in the center of the table where their meal had been simmering. The scent of seared and seasoned beef and the various vegetables stewing in their own broth was so tantalizing that Natsumi could literally feel saliva pooling in her mouth the instant she got a whiff of it. She couldn't remember the last time she had had a home cooked meal.

"Wow, that looks incredible." The teen expressed, turning to the older woman and bowing, "Thank you for inviting me into your home."

"No need to be formal, we wanted to thank you for keeping this knucklehead safe during the attack." Mitsuki pulled Bakugou into a headlock, giving the squirming teen a noogie while he growled out various curses of protest.

They all sat down around the table, each of them picking up their own pair of chopsticks and beginning to dig in to the pot of food at the center of the table. Each of them had a small bowl with a raw egg inside that they used to dip their meat and vegetables in for added flavor.

"I hear they're still going through with having the Sports Festival, are you two excited about that?" Mitsuki asked after everyone had already tucked into their meal, her husband quietly enjoying his meal from beside her. He didn't seem to speak very much from what Natsumi could tell, the two adults were polar opposites.

"I'm going to be the indisputable winner." Bakugou declared through a mouthful of meat.

"Mhm, if you say so." Mitsuki rolled her eyes before turning to Natsumi who had just popped a piece of cabbage into her mouth, "What do you think?"

The pink haired teen chewed her food quickly before swallowing it, caught off guard by the question, "Well, I guess it all depends on whether they allow me to go back but…I'd really like to compete," Her gaze then shifted to Bakugou, a teasing smile playing on her lips, "I'd give you a run for your money, that's for sure."

"Yeah right, enjoy eating my dust, ice bitch." He shot back, a fire alight in his eyes as he stabbed at a piece of meat with his chopsticks before chomping down on it loudly.

"Katsuki!" His mother and father both interjected disapprovingly.

Natsumi laughed dismissively, "It's fine, it's his nickname for me."

"Has becoming a Hero always been your goal?" His mother questioned her.

It was weird being asked questions, especially something so personal, no one had ever really cared to get to know her or ask her what she wanted to do when she was growing up. She knew that Bakugou Mitsuki was just doing it to be polite and keep conversation flowing but something about the way she asked her, so softly, and coupled with the warmth of the meal they were sharing just made Natsumi want to cry. She wouldn't, but the moment was so sincere that if she wasn't so well versed at keeping her emotions in check that she just might have.

"Not…really." She answered honestly with a lopsided grin, "I'm…I'm not sure how much of my past has been dug up and exposed at this point but Heroism was never in the cards for me growing up. I was brought up to follow a completely different path and it took a very important person to finally set me straight and steer me along the path to becoming a Hero. I will forever be in his debt for seeing the good in me."

From beside her she could see Bakugou tense up from the corner of her eye, his gaze sliding in her direction in an almost curious fashion, he wanted to know what person she was referring to. She was sure that after she had been suspended that information about who she was had been revealed to the class, there was a reason why she had gone by a different name and changed her appearance, but none of that mattered anymore.

"Well I'm sure you'll be a great hero one day." Bakugou Masaru smiled across the table at her.

"Not as great as me." The boy next to her smirked, she rolled her eyes in response.

The rest of the night continued on in a similar manner with everyone enjoying their meal, the two teens periodically answering questions asked by Mitsuki, taunting each other at every chance they got. Somehow, they got on the subject of birthdays and Natsumi admitted that her birthday was actually coming up, she was going to be sixteen in the middle of May.

"Katsuki's birthday is on the twentieth, I know he acts like he's eight but he'll be sixteen if you can believe it." His mother joked while Bakugou flashed the middle finger.

It felt so natural conversing with the Bakugous, as unconventional as their relationship with each other was with the way they spoke, it was refreshing and she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't. She could tease and taunt and use as much sarcasm as she pleased without having to worry about offending anyone. They all spoke their minds, with the exception of Bakugou Masaru who was the odd one out at the table in that he preferred to sit back and listen rather than jump into the conversation around him.

It wasn't until Masaru chimed in stating that it was getting late and reminded his wife that Katsuki had school in the morning that they all realized how late it had gotten. With their stomachs full and plates empty and clean, Natsumi bowed politely and thanked the two adults profusely for allowing her to be a part of their evening.

Once back home Natsumi noticed how quiet and cold her apartment truly was in comparison with the Bakugou residence which only furthered to amplify the loneliness that had settled thickly over her heart the past few days. Dinner had been a welcomed distraction but now she was back to her solitude and her thoughts and wasn't sure how much longer she'd last if left to her own devices.

* * *

I know that was probably a weird chapter, but I feel like despite Bakugou not being the type of person to really advertise his shortcomings and vulnerabilities I do believe that he's in the Hero course for a reason and he saw first hand the type of Quirks the twins had. So when he learned that Natsumi was suspended I don't necessarily think he'd out right tell his parents what he was thinking but I also sorta feel like he'd grumble about how it was bullshit for the school to pull someone out of class before properly investigating and getting all of the information. Idk, maybe that's just me, but I do feel that he's got a sense of justice and feels like it was unjust of Yuei to just presume she's automatically guilty before looking at the facts first.

So this chapter was pretty Bakugou heavy and next chapter will have a fair amount of him and her as well but no worries, I promise this is still going to be a Todoroki story, I just want to flesh out Bakugou and his relationship with Natsumi a little more.

Also! Thank you so much to CardyDesu who drew a super cute picture of Natsumi which can be found on her BnHA art Instagram (PrivateCardy).

Thank you everyone who favorited/followed! I was actually afraid that for some reason that last chapter didn't post publicly because the next day I was going through the stories listed in the BnHA section and I couldn't find mine there at all so I was worried that it was no longer available for the public to see lmao.

Thank you everyone who reviewed, even just a simple "can't wait for the next chapter" makes me day when I read it so thank you so much!


	7. Chapter 7

Time was a relative concept when you had no reason to actually worry about it. Two more days had passed at a snail's pace and she was beginning to feel entangled in a web of hopelessness that further cemented the despair she felt in her heart. She was spiraling further into her dark thoughts and was no longer safe from those treacherous thoughts in her sleep as they plagued her conscious and subconscious in the form of violent nightmares. She found herself tossing and turning in her sleep only to wake in the middle of the night drenched in her own sweat with the harsh stares of her classmates burned in her mind as they called her names with such derision that she began to believe that must have been what they truly thought of her after this whole ordeal. She began to believe that they were right to think such things about her.

Natsumi wasn't sure what time it was but knew that it was early evening from what she could gather from the position of the sun peeking through the thick navy curtains drawn shut around her living room windows. The stray light filtering through was warm but muted in brightness which she assumed was from the fact that the sun was beginning to set behind the cityscape outside her apartment building.

Maybe it was because of all of this that when she found the bottle of amber liquid hidden away in the cupboard under the sink that she thought it was a good idea to crack it open and pour herself a shot. It tasted bitter on her tongue and burned all the way down to her empty stomach but there was a sense of comfort that she felt as she breathed in the familiar scent. It reminded her of times when her parents were actually home.

 _Training had been particularly rough on her both mentally and physically and Natsumi just wanted to hear from her mother and father that she was doing a good job. Her parents didn't sing words of praise often, if not at all, however. Instead, they had simply sighed with eyes narrowed and let her know what she needed to improve on._

 _It didn't matter that she was only six and her small body physically couldn't handle the level of power they wanted her to reach or the amount of damage they wanted her to be able to create._

 _The disappointment in their voices hung heavy over her and stung as deeply as the daggers they had had her practice with that afternoon. In addition to wanting her to have mastery over her Quirk they also voiced the need to know how to wield various weapons in the event that a Hero or Law Enforcement would have someone on their side that could disrupt the use of Quirks. Natsumi had been the one to choose sharp, lightweight throwing knives rather than something that was heavier than she was._

 _With the addition of weapons to her training Natsumi found herself struggling to keep up with handling her ice as well as learning to utilize the throwing knives. Her parents were visibly frustrated by her inability to keep up at this point._

 _She was sent to her room without dinner, something she was used to by now. Whenever they expressed their displeasure with her progress, or lack thereof, they would send her to her room until the next day without any form of nourishment._

 _Her parents weren't home very often and more often than not she was left to her own devices even at such a young age. There was another family that lived in the warehouse with them though, they were acquaintances of her parents but had shown her more kindness than her own mother and father had ever spared her._

 _She had grown rather close to that family in her own family's absence, the two boys who were two years older than she was had taken an immediate liking to her and would sneak her various snacks when they knew her parents were home so that she wouldn't go without eating. In return, she would sneak them up onto the roof in the dead of night and spend hours stargazing and giggling amongst themselves. Sometimes they would even spar, the boys were better versed in hand to hand combat due to their Quirks being more psychological based so they taught her the ins and outs of the different offensive stances and how to defend herself._

 _Unfortunately, those soft moments where she could escape always came to an end and she would have to climb back down to her room and slip back inside where the overwhelming stench of liquor and cigarettes would greet her._

Her head felt heavy and light all at the same time, her throat burned and her lips were beginning to tingle with an early onset of numbness sneaking up on her. She had never ventured this far, alcohol had always been something she swore she'd stay away from, not because of her being underage but because she saw how it had made her parents go from bad to worse and she never wanted to be like that.

But, desperate times…

Maybe she would drink herself into a coma. She had nothing else going for her at this point, no friends, no family, wasn't in school, no job, simply living off of stolen money that innocent people had died trying to protect.

 _How could someone like me even dare to dream of being a hero?_

She snorted. _What a fucking joke._

 _ **Knock. Knock.**_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knuckles tapping against her door hurriedly, as if the person on the other side had quickly decided on making their presence known after a long internal debate.

Confusion threaded its way through her as she paused in her pouring of another shot, she haphazardously set the bottle back down on the counter, liquid sloshing against the side of the glass. She shuffled towards the door and pulled it open with miscalculated force that sent her stumbling back and if it hadn't been for a rough hand reaching forward and grasping at the collar of her sweater she would have tumbled to the floor.

Instead, her body awkwardly hovered above the floor teetering on the edge of her heels. Her crimson gaze glanced behind her momentarily before trailing to the angry blond holding her up. His carmine stare narrowed into an annoyed glared before he untangled his fingers from the fabric of her sweater, allowing her to fall unceremoniously to the tiled floor beneath her.

"Oof." She winced, bringing her hand back to rub at her sore bottom.

"That's what you get for being a fucking idiot." He spat, taking in her disheveled appearance and rosy cheeks, the scent of whiskey on her breath was a clear indication of what she had been up to.

"Baka-gouu whatir you doing here?" She slurred, pulling herself back to her feet, a slight sway to her balance as she stared at him in confusion.

His eye twitched at her mispronunciation of his name, "I knew you were a moron but I didn't think you were this _stupid_. Getting drunk, _seriously_?"

She blinked, "I'm not drunk, I only hadafew shots."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I can see that. You fucking reek."

"I do not smell."

"You smell like a bar, dumbass."

" _You_ smell like a bar."

"Nice comeback, very original." His lip curled over his canines, "Go take a shower and scrub that fucking stench off of you."

"Ugh, fine." She groaned, stomping off towards the bathroom and slamming the door behind herself. She wasn't sure why she was taking commands from him or even why he was there in the first place but if she wanted to find out she probably should heed his suggestion and clear her head a little first.

Natsumi showered in record timing, she mostly just stood there letting the scalding water cascade over her body until her skin was a bright pink. She had to admit that just doing that had made her feel immensely better, her head was still a little hazy but her perception was clear enough to be able to face Bakugou and _hopefully_ not make a fool of herself.

"Better?" He sat on her couch with his arms over his chest, carmine eyes regarded her mildly as she wandered back out into the living room. She was wearing a pair of grey leggings, a large mint green sweater that swallowed her small body up in the fabric, pale pink hair was damp and clung to her neck.

"Much." She answered, lips down turning into a frown, "Now that my head is somewhat clear…what're you doing here?"

The ash blond turned his head to the side, stubbornly refusing to meet her gaze. He was still trying to figure out why he had bothered stopping by after school had ended for the day. There was something that he had wanted to tell her and it had been on his mind for a good portion of the day, in fact, he had been thinking about it ever since she had come over for dinner. Bakugou wasn't the type of person who gave inspirational speeches or to soothe another person with kind words, but with that being said if there was something on his mind he wasn't afraid of letting others know what that was as long as it wasn't too personal.

She shuffled closer, crossing her arms over her chest and peering down at him, "If you came over here just to sit on my couch and brood silently then I'm going to have to ask you to leave…"

He rolled his eyes, she always had something idiotic to say and that was something that annoyed him beyond measure. But then the memory of her tipsy and barely able to manage opening the front door without stumbling over her own feet came to mind. Bakugou wasn't stupid. He knew that the reason she had resorted to such a terrible decision was because of her current predicament with Yūei which lead him to why he stopped over in the first place…

"You shouldn't worry about what those bastards think." He mumbled.

She paused, unsure if she had heard him correctly at first but then he continued to speak.

"If they're going to judge you based on who your shitty parents were then those fucking extras aren't worth your time." His voice sounded rough to her ears and even Bakugou himself seemed unsure of why he was even bothering to say such things to her, but he was working towards becoming a hero and he had found her acting out in desperation. Maybe this was his own way of stepping in to nip things in the bud before they progressed to her doing something much worse than getting drunk in her apartment.

She opened her mouth to say something but his sharp glare cut her off, "And don't think I didn't notice your eyes. You were wearing a disguise this whole fucking time? Are you really that cowardly that you'd change your appearance because you're afraid of what people would think? Maybe you're not cut out to be a hero after all." He spat, eyes narrowed in a heated glare.

A frown tugged at her lips and she found herself unable to meet his unwavering stare, "You're right, I was afraid that I looked too much like my father and people would put two and two together. I'm not meant to be a hero. But…I'd like to be and I'm going to work on that." She finally met his gaze with a determined look of her own, "And I'm going to do it as myself. No more hiding behind a fake name and appearance. Even if Yūei doesn't allow me to come back, I'll find a way to make it."

He seemed to accept her answer, closing his eyes and leaning back, "Maybe one day you'll have enough talent to work at my agency as a sidekick."

"When you're out on the streets because your shitty attitude made you the least popular Hero out there, I'll remember the words you spoke to me today and I'll take you under my wing as an apprentice." She leaned forward with a cheeky grin.

Carmine eyes snapped open and he leapt to his feet, a growl emanating from deep within his throat, "Say that again, ice bitch. I dare you."

She laughed, "How about I play you. We'll see who comes out on top." She gestured towards the gaming system sitting on the floor in front of her television, game controllers and game cases laying haphazardously across the floor.

"You're gonna regret challenging me." He smirked confidently, plopping himself down in front of the television and snatching one of the controllers before browsing through her game selection. His fingers brushed over cases of various rpg's and he snorted. _Of course this fucking nerd would be into those types of games._ His gaze landed on a game cover that depicted several popular fictional characters all fighting in a battle royale, he quickly popped open the case and loaded the game system with the disc.

"Just so you know, I've had _a_ _lot_ of practice." She sat cross-legged beside him, grabbing the extra controller from the mess on the floor.

The system started with a whir of noise and the two picked their characters from the available list before deciding to let the game randomize and choose the battle arena for them.

The next hour was filled with button mashing, loud strings of expletives, and confident gloating from whoever had taken the lead for that particular match. Natsumi realized, with a grimace, that Bakugou was also quite good at playing video games.

 _Just when I thought I had found something he would suck at._

"Take that, you fucking nerd." The ash blond slammed the controller down, his lips curled into a triumphant smirk as the television screen displayed 'WINNER!' plastered over the image of his selected avatar.

"Best twelve out of twenty-five?"

"Tch. Whatever, you're still going to lose."

"All right, if you're so confident then how about we make a little wager?"

He furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes but ultimately his curiosity won over the suspicion welling up within him and he leaned forward, "Hah?"

Seeing that she had piqued his interest, Natsumi continued, "Whoever wins the next game will be declared the indisputable winner and the loser will be required to bring them lunch for the next two weeks. How's that sound?"

Bakugou's lips split into a wicked grin, "I like my food extra spicy, none of that tasteless shit I see you eating all the time. Keep that in mind when you're making my lunch."

"Just because it's not smothered in hot sauce and pepper flakes doesn't make it tasteless." Natsumi's lips formed a small frown.

They both seemed to play so fervently during their next match that beads of sweat formed above their brows from the intense concentration both teens exuded as their fingers mashed against the colored buttons on their controllers in strategic patterns previously memorized. The game seemed to last forever while in reality it was really only about three minutes, but with an actual prize waiting at the end of the match for the victor they both played as if their lives depended on it.

"Fuck you, stupid bitch. You cheated!" The ash blond growled, throwing his controller across the room and watching in angered fascination as it skidded against the floor and collided against the wall with a resounding thud.

Natsumi let out a loud bark of laughter at his reaction, rocking back and forth as she continued to laugh uncontrollably. Bakugou's lips curled into a dark scowl, eyes narrowed angrily and he thrust out his palms and shoved her hard. The pink haired teen stopped laughing just in time to let out a startled yelp as she lost balance and fell backwards on to her living room floor.

"Uncalled for." She groaned, knowing that she'd be waking up to a bruise the next morning without a doubt. She quickly jutted out her leg, kicking him in the side, sending him sprawling to the floor in an unceremonious heap, "Haha, you look fucking ridiculous." Lips quirked into an amused smirk as she used her elbows to prop herself up.

"I'll kill you." Bakugou seethed as he scrambled to his feet and ran towards her. She was quick to roll out of the way, aiming a swift kick to the back of his knees and sending him toppling over to the floor once more.

His finger tips crackled, bright angry sparks fizzing to life as he picked himself up off the ground, an irritated twitch in his eye.

"Ah-uh, no explosives in my apartment." She chided, wagging her finger at him and was actually surprised when he suppressed his quirk, the sparks between his fingers disappearing as quickly as they came.

The blond didn't need his quirk to beat her though, he was content with using his fists. He leapt towards her, catching Natsumi off guard as he landed on top of her with his full body weight, almost crushing her against the hard floor.

"Don't fuck with me, ice princess."

"Aw, that's a rather flattering nickname." She teased, staring up at him with a toothy grin.

He clicked his tongue and let out an exasperated huff, "You're so fucking annoying."

"Story of my life." Natsumi rolled her eyes and pulled herself out from under him just enough to prop herself up, leaning back on her elbows, "Mind getting off? You're really heavy."

"You're just fucking weak." He sneered but, nonetheless, pulled himself to his feet and refused to meet her gaze, "Whatever, I'm out."

Bakugou turned on his heel and disappeared behind her door, leaving her dazed and confused still lying on the cold hard floor of her living room. She wasn't hurt or upset by his sudden departure, she was more or less just…perplexed by how civil and normal their day together had been. Sure, he had flung around his typical insults and the night had ended in them tumbling around her living room but there had been no malice or true anger behind his words and actions. It all just felt so _normal_ and that was exactly what she needed right now. Maybe that was why he had humored her by playing video games and spending the last few hours with her, because he knew that she needed it. She needed that distraction to get away from her self-destructive thoughts even if it was for a small amount of time.

 _He's not as bad as he likes to pretend to be…_

* * *

Over the next two days Bakugou continued to show up after school and, staying true to their bet, had brought her ramen from the convenience store on the corner by her apartment. They would both sit down in front of her television with their bowl of ramen beside them, throwing teasing taunts and sarcastic quips at each other as they started the game system.

It was a nice little routine that she began to look forward to, it took her mind off the fact that it had been a week since the USJ incident and she still had not heard anything back from Yūei about their investigation or whether she would be permitted to continue her studies. With each passing day it was looking less likely that she'd have the opportunity to continue to go to school and she had to face the fact that she would need to start thinking about alternative ways of getting to where she needed to be.

 _I'm sure it's not too late to transfer to another school_. A small frown marred her pale face, _Though, would anyone take me after hearing that the famous Yūei had discarded me so quickly?_

Natsumi continued to have dark thoughts here and there, it was hard not to with the way things went down during their field trip but just being able to have something to look forward to was enough to keep her spirits up throughout the day.

The fact that Bakugou wasn't intrusive and didn't bother asking her questions about herself, her parents, or her past had been a huge relief. The paranoid part of her thought that the only reason he was stopping by was to satiate his curiosity, and perhaps even the class', about her, her parents, and her past but…she quickly came to realize that that was not the case at all. He didn't care about her past or who the people from it were, he only cared about kicking her ass at fighting games and rubbing it in her face.

 _Knock. Knock._

She glanced at her phone to check the time and frowned. Confusion swept over her when she realized that school was still in session and despite his 'i-don't-care-about-anything' attitude Bakugou was rather studious and never would have skipped a lesson.

 _If not him then who…?_

Immediately on high alert, her heart beat rapidly against her ribcage with such ferocity that she could hear the blood pumping in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. Had Ryou and Hibiki found her? Where they coming to finish the job or perhaps they would take her away and their cohorts would do the dirty work for them.

Crimson eyes flickered towards the window overlooking the cityscape, she could make a slide out of ice and safely escape but then where would she go? She didn't know anyone and no one would take in the daughter of two prolific villains, especially when she was being hunted _by_ villains…she was more trouble than she was worth.

"Young Miyano, are you home?"

She knew that voice, the familiarity of it sending shivers of relief down her spine. Her fingers had coated themselves in a chilling rime during her panic and she quickly made sure to extinguish the frost before opening the door to find not just All Might but Aizawa-sensei and Principal Nezu standing there as well. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach at the sight of them and despite All Might's and Principal Nezu's bright smiles she still couldn't shake the feeling that she was about to receive bad news. Were they here to officially expel her from Yūei permanently? Had they somehow come to the conclusion that she had colluded with the villains because of what happened between her and Todoroki?

"Ah, I'm sorry I wasn't aware you were stopping by." She answered hurriedly after a brief moment of awkward silence, "Please, come in. Would you like some tea?"

"No thanks." Aizawa answered tiredly.

"Oh, yes please! Thank you." Nezu grinned.

"Please, have a seat." She offered, motioning to her couch as she shuffled into the kitchen to begin heating up the kettle for their tea. All the while trying to swallow the panic that was bubbling inside of her. If she wasn't careful she would end up throwing up from shear nervousness over the entire situation that was about to unfold in her living room.

After a few aching, awkward moments of waiting the kettle on her stove whistled and she quickly removed it from the heat source, pouring the scalding water into three mugs. She watched as the water interacted with the tiny bags of tea that sat at the bottom of the mug, slowly rising to the top and bobbing there, expelling a light brown. Unsure of how they took their tea she quickly padded out to the living room and set a mug down in front of Nezu and the Symbol of Peace before returning to the kitchen for her own and a small bowl of sugar cubes.

"Sorry about the wait." She apologized as she pulled a dining room chair out into the living room to face the three adults smushed awkwardly next to each other on the couch. If the situation hadn't been such a serious one she would have laughed at how ridiculous the three adults looked sitting on her tiny futon—All Might in the middle with Aizawa and Neu on either side of him, crammed against the armrests. She tossed a couple cubes of sugar into her tea.

"I'm sure you're aware of why we are here today." Aizawa-sensei began, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and he looked as if he would nod off right then and there on her couch at any second.

She bit her lip apprehensively, "I…have an idea why, yes."

"First and foremost, we would like to apologize for the amount of time it took us to conduct our investigation of the events that occurred at USJ." The small mouse supplied, wrapping his paws around his mug and taking a sip of the warm amber liquid, "We had no intention of keeping you in the dark for this long, but new pieces of information came up that delayed our results initially."

Natsumi gave him a bewildered look, tilting her head and urging him to continue with his train of thought.

"From an outsiders point of view the way things panned out seemed to point in the direction of you colluding with the League of Villains when you went after Todoroki Shouto." Aizawa brought up what she had been having nightmares over since the attack, she knew it would be a major point against her when the time came for them to speak with her but it still hurt to hear it mentioned out loud, "And not to mention that you appeared to have some sort of pre-existing relationship with two of the villains, I believe someone even mentioned you having a matching tattoo with them?"

She swallowed the bile that was slowly rising in her throat before answering, "I do know them, those two at least, I didn't know any of the others that were there. But those two boys…I grew up with them, once upon a time they were my friends which explains the tattoos."

"And the reason you attacked young Todoroki was…?" All Might asked, genuine curiosity alight in his darkened eyes.

"Their Quirks are very psychological and when used in conjunction with each other can really make you believe that you're seeing, feeling, and hearing anything that they want you to. For me…I thought I was fighting one of those…" She shuddered at the thought of the vision she had been forced to see, "monsters…with the exposed muscles and brain matter. I didn't even know it was Todoroki-kun until…until I had him on the ground."

"I see." All Might nodded.

"We are here today because we reviewed the eye witness testimonies over and over again and spoken with your classmates on how they feel about what happened and we would like to welcome you back to class 1-A. We are very sorry that it took this long to come to this conclusion and know that the past few days have probably been rough for you, we do have counselors available who will happily talk you through any misplaced anger or feelings you may have about what went down at USJ." Nezu took another sip of his tea, sighing in content.

The crimson eyed teen stared at the three before her for a moment while she processed what Yuei's principal had just said to her. She felt immense relief and excitement swell within her at the prospect of being able to return to school after being away for so long but…

"Do…do they know?" She asked quietly, bowing her head in shame.

"They do. I'm sure you can imagine the types of questions everyone had after you didn't return to school with the rest of them. It was not our place to reveal that information that you had entrusted us with, however, the media had caught wind of things and we decided, ultimately, that your classmates were better off finding out from us rather than from watching the news."

Natsumi grimaced, so the media knew who she was? That wasn't good, that would make things difficult for her and for the school in the long run and she was sure that parents wouldn't be too happy with her returning either…

"If the secret's out then…wouldn't the safer decision for the school be to not allow me back?" She glanced up at them sorrowfully before hastily adding, "Not that I don't want to come back because honestly _I do_. But…I would think that people wouldn't want me to go back after finding out…"

The three adults exchanged quick glances before Aizawa answered for them, "Not going to sugar-coat things for you, kid, but there were a couple of parents who were uneasy with the thought of allowing you back, however the decision ultimately was mine to make since you are a part of my class. Your classmates also voiced their opinions on the matter and it was unanimous."

She expected parents to not want their children to associate or go to school with someone like her, someone who, in their eyes, could snap and become the villain she was 'destined' to become. But, what surprised her the most was that Aizawa-sensei had admitted that her classmates actually wanted her back…and he chose to allow her back in his class. Her chest tightened and her throat was suddenly as dry as the Sahara, all moisture seemingly allocating to her eyes as tears began to well up, threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Thank you so much for defending me and allowing me to come back, I won't let you down."

"Young Miyano-"

"—I guess, since the cat's out of the bag and all, I might as well go by my real name. No more hiding." She interrupted All Might, using the back of her hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.

"You are aware that being a Hero with your past is going to make people judge you heavily before they get the chance to know you, your actions and any mistake you may make will be scrutinized more so than that of your peers. Are you prepared for this?" Nezu-sensei's voice was serious, his bright smile disappearing in an instant as he locked eyes with her.

"I know, I guess I've always known that sooner or later people would find out who my parents were, I was always just afraid. But the thing is, I'm not as afraid anymore now that I have people on my side who believe in me and I now believe in myself. I'll work extra hard to prove to those who doubt me wrong, I'll show them that I can be a hero and I'm not like my parents." She finished with a confident grin.

All Might and Nezu were both moved by her strong conviction and even Aizawa seemed to offer her a proud smirk after hearing what she had to say.

"In that case, you'll return to class tomorrow morning. You will have a lot of catching up to do but I am confident that you'll be able to do it, one of your classmates will be stopping by later on with your makeup work. Please be sure to complete it within a timely manner so that you do not fall too far behind your classmates." Aizawa then rose to his feet and started for the door, he had said all he needed to say and was ready to go home and take a nice long nap. The past week had been stressful on all of them with the investigation, the media pestering them about the attack, and even disgruntled parents throwing in their two cents. But realistically he knew it wasn't over, not by a long shot.

Nazu was next to hop off of the couch, placing his empty mug on the little black coffee table and offering her a bright smile and friendly wave, "Thank you for the tea, good luck with your studies!"

Once Aizawa and Nezu had both left it was just All Might and Natsumi left, his large frame filled up her entire couch and she had to stifle her giggles at the sight. Aizawa and Nezu had barely fit on either side of him and she was sure that they were relieved to no longer be smushed up against the arm rest any more.

"Young Kurosawa, I'm proud of you."

There was a heavy weight to his words of praise and she realized that that was the first time anyone had ever uttered such a phrase to her. Her parents certainly had never given her words of encouragement or praise and she hadn't really done much good in her life previously to warrant such a phrase to be tossed her way. But from the soft look in his eyes she could tell that he meant what he said and that made her chest constrict once more, but this time it wasn't out of anxiety, it was out of love and admiration for the man standing before her.

"You have certainly come a long way and grown much since our first meeting." His lips pulled back into a small smile, much different than the typical beaming grin he usually donned, this one was more subtle, more caring and gentle in nature.

 _Things hadn't been the same since her parents' untimely demise. With all the shit they had put her through with her rigorous training regimes, intense punishments, and the negative things they would say to her...she missed them. They weren't the best parents but they were_ _ **hers**_ _. She wasn't even sure what her next step would be at this point, she was thirteen and speaking from a legal standpoint couldn't live on her own. The thought of being scooped up by government officials and being thrust into foster care terrified her far more than living on her own did._

 _It had only been two days since they had been killed in action by Japan's Number Two Hero and it was still the leading headline on all major news stations, on the front page of every newspaper, and just all around the only thing people could talk about. The fact that people were praising Endeavor for his valiant efforts and bravery in taking down the Ghost Villain Spectre and the Water Demon, Hydra, two of Japan's more prolific villains was appalling to her._

 _Yes, they were villains and they had done terrible things, taken lives of innocent people but…they were still people, they were human and who the fuck was Endeavor to decide that their lives should be taken away? They were there one minute and then gone in one single horrifying burst of flames and ash._

 _They didn't have cable or internet in their abandoned factory home because no one was supposed to be living there in the first place, but that didn't mean that Natsumi wasn't able to stay up to date with current events. She would often sneak out to steal meals from the local convenience store and while she was out would stop and snag a newspaper or watch the televisions blaring the local news channels from store windows. It didn't take long for her to find out what had happened and why her mother and father hadn't returned home after what was to be a simple heist._

 _They had warned her about Heroes, that they were only in it for the fame and the money and that deep down not one of them was a decent person. Looking back, it was rather ironic for a couple of villains to be saying things that also applied to them as well, but Natsumi believe every word they said to her and now she had her proof that everything they had told her had been the absolute truth._

 _A gentle knock vibrated against the door of their makeshift apartment inside of the old, worn-down factory causing the small girl to jump in surprise. No one knew where they lived, her family had protected the whereabouts of their home base for years…well, the only other people who knew had been Ryou and Hibiki's family but they were long gone by now having skipped town half a year ago._

 _She shuffled closer to the door, apprehensively reaching out for the brass knob, fingers gently brushing against the cool surface before quickly recoiling back as if she had been burned. Whoever was behind that door was no friend of hers. She began to go through various scenarios in her head of who it could possibly be. Was it Endeavor? Did he find out about her existence and come to destroy her like he had done with her parents? No…he would have probably burst through the door in a flurry of flames rather than knock to announce his presence. Was it the police? No…they would have also announced who they were before breaking down the door. So then…who?!_

" _Young Kurosawa, are you there?" A familiar, yet unfamiliar, voice boomed from the other side._

" _Who's askin'?" She leaned against the door, voice indignant and suspicious._

" _I am All Might, I would like to speak with you if it's not too much trouble." His voice was loud but his tone was soft, gentle even._

 _Her eyes widened, if Japan's Number One Hero was on the other side of her door, if he had found her so easily then there was no way that she was safe anymore. He had found her and was likely here to finish the job his comrade had started._

" _No thanks." She growled, rime coated her pale fingers as she produced small dagger-like weapons of ice in the event that he barged in._

 _A sigh sounded from the other side, "I'm not here on official hero business, I'm here just to talk."_

 _Natsumi rolled her eyes, "I know that trick. Listen, I know all about probable cause, for the record, I haven't done anything wrong, so you're just wasting your time."_

Her lips pulled back into a small, nostalgic smile, "Yeah, I remember it took a whole month of you visiting me every couple of days before I finally let you inside."

All Might chuckled, "You were an obstinate child, that was for sure. But I understood where your suspicions came from considering all you had been taught growing up. I just wanted to show you that you didn't have to follow the path that had been laid out for you." He stared down at her with a fond, gentle gaze and Natsumi noticed that he seemed more tired than usual, "You have strong instincts, you're smart, and have great control over your quirk...you just need to reign in that temper of yours. But I know you're going to make a great Hero one day."

Hearing those words from the Symbol of Peace himself felt so surreal, if someone like All Might could see the good in her then she couldn't have been all that bad. That's why she wanted to succeed as a Hero…because he believed in her and she didn't want to let him down after he put so much faith in her. _That_ , and she also wanted to prove that she wasn't destined to became the person that her parents had trained her to be.

She beamed up at him, her eyes crinkling at the corners, "Thank you for everything, it's because of you that I even had this opportunity. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." Those were his parting words as he offered her a small wave and ducked under the doorframe that was too short for his large muscular body.

* * *

A little while later, right as the sun was beginning to spill a myriad of colors across the horizon, another knock came at her door. This one was tentative, as if the person on the other side hadn't even wanted to make their presence known in the first place.

A frown tugged at her lips, she had expected it to be Bakugou but he was more assertive and loud with the way he rapped his knuckles against her doorframe. Curious now, she shuffled forward, pale fingers wrapping around the cool metal knob before yanking it open to reveal an unreadable set of heterochromic eyes staring back at her.

They stared at each other for a moment before the boy shifted his weight and held out his hand, in it was a thick folder, "You missed quite a bit, here's your makeup assignments."

"Todoroki I…" She bit her lip, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in his presence, shame colored her cheeks as his gaze rose to meet hers.

"Don't apologize." He spoke up before she had the chance to finish her thought, "You weren't in control, you did nothing wrong."

"I could have killed you." A frown tugged at the corners of her lips.

"You didn't though." He shrugged nonchalantly.

That didn't make her feel any better about what had happened though. He was acting as if it hadn't been a big deal, but it had been to her and the school. He should hate her. They all should hate her. She was the progeny of two of Japan's most prolific villains, she had trained under them up until their deaths two years ago with the intent of following in their footsteps.

Seeing Todoroki in person after what happened suddenly brought on a cloud of self-deprecation that almost made her stumble back from the sheer mental force of it. She was the bad guy here, she had the ability to literally rip the organs right out of someone. Why would Yūei accept her back and allow her to stand among their precious students?

"Are you okay?" Todoroki's brows furrowed in mild concern for his classmate as she stood there in silence, her face contorting into various expressions. He was curious, wanting to know what she could possibly be thinking.

"No." She answered truthfully.

When Aizawa had asked the class who would be available to stop by Natsumi's apartment to drop off her schoolwork many hands had shot up. People had missed her and were eager to see her again and see if she was okay. What surprised him the most though was that he was among those who had raised their hands, he had rehearsed what he had wanted to say over and over again for days. He just needed the opportunity to see her to say what he needed to say. Maybe it was because Aizawa was also a little surprised to see Todoroki's hand among those raised, or perhaps it was due to his reliability to get the task completed that he had chosen the boy to deliver the assignments. Regardless of the reason, Todoroki had been chosen and was now at a loss for words. He had expected her to have strong feelings towards what had happened and he had wanted to tell her to get over it, it was in the past and he harbored no ill feelings towards her because of it. If anything, if gave him the opportunity to see what he needed to work on in his own training to better himself and his fighting techniques.

But now here she was having some sort of mental breakdown and he felt awkward, unsure of what to say, if he should even say anything at all to her.

"Sorry, I just feel like…" She began, crinkling her nose in contemplation as she grasped for the words to express what she was feeling, "I feel like maybe Yūei made a mistake with me."

"Yūei doesn't make mistakes and neither do our teachers." Todoroki answered easily, "You fought hard to get to where you are and to claim a place at Yūei, regardless of what you think or what anyone may say, you deserve to be here."

He had a point but she didn't want to see it, she had spent so much time alone over the last week and those thoughts that plagued her weren't going to disappear so easily. They could be masked and pushed aside but they would always be there waiting to spring up and bear down on her like a looming shadow.

Crimson eyes rose up to meet his mismatched stare and it was the first time he had ever seen her natural eye color. Her hair was different as well, the pink was faded to a light rose color while her roots were beginning to grow out white. He understood why she hid certain aspects of her appearance from them after learning who she was and it made him wonder if he would have ever done the same. He loathed his father and everything that came with being his son, he hated his left side which reminded him so much of that man…but would he have ever gone through with actually hiding it under hair dye and contacts? Probably not, he wasn't that much of a coward but perhaps if his father had been a villain as opposed to a Hero maybe things would have been different.

"You know…" She started slowly, "I wanted to hate you."

That statement didn't surprise him, his face remained calm and neutral.

"You were the son of the man who ruined my life, so when you were at the obstacle course in my group, I knew I had to beat you. I just…I needed to be better than you because that would mean that I was better than something that _he_ had created and would bring me one step closer to surpassing him." She let out a small chuckle, "And then we were in the same class and you probably didn't notice or maybe you just didn't care but during the apprehension test on the first day I was competing against you. I needed to have a better score than you."

"I remember that." He acknowledged with a nod.

"But…I don't know, I quickly realized that I was being a fucking hypocrite because here I am trying to prove that I'm not my parents all the while lumping you together with Endeavor. You're nothing like your him."

The corners of Todoroki's lips twitched for the briefest of moments but it was enough of a change in expression that she was able to catch it. Those were words that he needed to hear, though he would never admit it out loud, especially not to his classmates. He hated his father and, while he did want to be a Hero, he didn't want to be a hero like _Endeavor_.

"There is one thing that I'm curious about." The boy began, catching her attention, "Who were you recommended by?"

She paused, running her fingers through her faded wavy locks before bringing her index finger down to her lips with a smirk, "Can't tell, it's a secret."

"I should have known." He closed his eyes, letting out an amused sigh, "Well, I better get going. See you in class tomorrow."

"Wait."

He had turned to leave but paused at the gentle urgency in her voice, quirking a brow curiously he angled his chin to peer over his shoulder at her, "Hm?"

"If it's not too much to ask, would you stay and help me study? I've missed a week's worth of class and I don't think I can get all caught up on my own." She answered sheepishly and averted her gaze in embarrassment over having to ask for help, "Though if that's too much to ask it's fine, I can work on it myself."

He shrugged his shoulders and turned back around, "It's fine, I can stay."

"Ah, thank you Todoroki-kun." Natsumi's lips pulled back into a grin as they ventured towards the table in her little dining room.

She set the thick folder down on the table's surface and went to pour the both of them some tea while the boy sifted through the papers. When she returned with their cups the entire table was covered in various papers and she began to feel incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that she had to catch up on.

"What?"

"Nothing, just didn't realize how much I really missed." She let out a small laugh.

"Most of it is easy stuff, you'll be fine." He assured.

They decided to work on the math worksheets first to get them out of the way, he explained some of the equations that they had learned during her absence and went over how to use them properly. Natsumi was quick to pick things up, a trait that she had to develop from a young age out of fear of disappointing her parents, so they were able to breeze through the math portion of her makeup work rather quickly.

"Oh? I didn't realize you had a cat." Todoroki raised a brow as the tiny creature brushed up against his left leg, emitting a loud purr from the warmth that he exuded. He reached down, allowing his fingers to brush against the silky black fur which only made the cat purr even louder, content with the attention she was receiving.

"That's Kaguya." Natsumi introduced, straightening up in her seat to peer down at her cat shamelessly rubbing against her classmate, "Wow, she really likes you. Usually she hides when someone comes over."

He shifted his gaze to the girl beside him, briefly wondering who it was that she was referring to before turning his attention back to the cat rubbing her body against his leg and hand. He had always loved animals and cats in particular had taken a liking to him due to the warmth from his left side. _I guess that's one good thing to come from my left side._

"Shit, it's getting late." She expressed suddenly.

He tapped his phone to check the time and found that she was right, it was well into the evening and they had to be up early in the morning for class.

"I'm sorry I kept you so late." Natsumi apologized before straightening up the papers that lay haphazardously across the table, "If it's not too much to ask, do you think you could stop by and help me again tomorrow?"

Todoroki Shouto wasn't the type of person who gave his time to others so freely, he didn't need friends and he thought that his aloof attitude had made that pretty clear at the beginning of the school year. However, he didn't find Natsumi as obnoxious as some of the others in their class, she wasn't star-struck by him and his Quirk or his father and that was refreshing. Maybe some part of him felt responsible for the acts that his father had committed against her family and helping her catch up on her studies would be his way of atoning for what his father had done.

"I think I can manage that." He answered finally before collecting his things and starting for the door.

"Thanks, Todoroki-kun."

Once he had left she busied herself with cleaning up the rest of the papers and putting them back into the folder they had come in because she knew if she left them out Kaguya would end up chewing and ripping them apart while Natsumi slept.

She was excited to be going back to school in the morning but another part of her felt anxious giving her those first-day jitters all over again. Aizawa-sensei had assured her that her classmates had all missed her but a small part of her wondered if that were true, she had hidden a huge part of herself from them…if the roles were reversed she wasn't sure if she'd be as welcoming to someone rejoining their class after such a scandal.

With a heavy sigh, she plopped back down on one of the chairs in the dining room, faded pink curls spilling over her shoulder. Gingerly, Natsumi took a strand between her fingers and brought it eye-level, scrutinizing the faded dye with disdain.

"It's probably time that I fix this mess."

* * *

Gahh it took me longer than it really should have to get this chapter out considering that I wrote most of it the day I uploaded the last chapter. The beginning of the chapter was originally planned to go a lot differently but as I was writing it I couldn't find a place to organically put the scene that I really wanted to write so in the end what I really wanted to happen never did lol.

I really like this chapter, especially her interactions with Bakugou because it shows that, while he's a jerk, he can kinda be nice-ish sometimes. I really like the thought of her and him being friends so I just really had to make it happen haha.

The new cover art (assuming that it uploaded correctly lmao) is, of course, Natsumi that I had commissioned a while ago which shows how she actually looks when she's not hiding behind hair dye and contacts.

Anyway, it'll be a few weeks for sure before I can get the next chapter out. Next week I'm going to Anime Boston, so if by some weird chance and any readers are in the area or happen to be going to AB as well send me a PM because it'd be so much fun to meet other BnHA fans!

Also! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I'm seriously so blown away! And **Bbymojo** thank you so much for both of your incredibly sweet reviews for the last two chapters! I was so happy to receive such kind words!


	8. Chapter 8

Natsumi struggled with her thoughts on returning to school and thus had been unable to sleep the night before, tossing and turning anxiously. So, it went without saying that the next morning when her alarm rang just as the rays of early morning light were beginning to filter through her curtains Natsumi let out a loud groan of protest.

Slowly she untangled herself from the mess of sheets that she had created during the night from her constant movement, placing her feet on the floor and yawning loudly. She was beyond exhausted and sincerely hoped that whatever was in store for her at school wouldn't be too strenuous or thought provoking.

She began to get ready for the day ahead of her, running a hand through her tangled locks a few times before deciding that she was going to braid her unruly waves of milky white. Natsumi had been letting the dye naturally wash out of her hair over the past week but the night before, after Todoroki had left, she had decided that it was time to finally strip the remaining color. Afterall, the pink had been part of her disguise and she had promised herself and those who had come to see her that she was done hiding. This was the first step in initiating change.

Natsumi stood outside of her classroom, fingers outstretched and hovering hesitantly above the handle, she chewed on her bottom lip anxiously. It shouldn't have been this hard, but it was. She was terrified. To any outsiders passing by she probably looked ridiculous standing stock still, unable to push open the door to her class. She could hear bits and pieces of muffled conversations coming from the other side of the door and briefly wondered if they were talking about her.

 _Breathe. Just breathe Natsu._

Drawing in a deep breath and slowly exhaling in an attempt to calm her nerves, she dipped her chin and pushed through the doorway.

All chatter came to a halt as soon as she shuffled through the doorway, every single set of eyes immediately landing on her as she stood before her classmates as if for the first time.

Drawing in a deep breath she straightened up, eyes set forward, "My name is Kurosawa Natsumi and I apologize for any trouble I may have caused in the past. I will work hard to regain your trust." Crimson eyes locked with carmine for the briefest of moments and she could have sworn that she saw his lips twitch into a satisfied smirk before Natsumi made her way to her seat, dropping her backpack next to her chair with a thud.

"You know…somehow I just _knew_ you weren't naturally pink." Ashido frowned playfully, fingers tugging at her own unruly pink locks as she spoke.

"You look so intimidating…yet still hot. My feelings are so conflicted right now!" Mineta cried out, clutching his head dramatically.

Ochako turned around in her seat, her pink lips pulling back into a warm grin as she addressed Natsumi, "We're glad you're back, Natsu-chan."

The silver haired teen bit her trembling lip, willing away the tears that were threatening to spill. She had never felt so appreciative for anything in her life as she was feeling at this moment in time. Maybe her classmates had had reservations about her returning, maybe they didn't, but what mattered to her was that they were welcoming her back with open arms, kind words, and warm smiles right now. Heat rose across her chilled skin at the thought, it was a warmth that she had never known before and it brought along feelings and emotions that she had never felt before but...they were nice and she hoped that these feelings never faded.

From the corner of her eye she caught a pair of grey and turquoise eyes regarding her in silent amusement which she surmised must have been because of her changing facial expressions. But nonetheless she tilted her head slightly to offer him a small smile.

The door slid open to reveal Aizawa-sensei who stifled a yawn as he strode into the room, all conversations ceasing at the emergence of their homeroom teacher. Dark, tired eyes landed on her for a moment before he addressed the class, "As you all know the Sports Festival is coming up quick, we briefly discussed this last week after USJ but for those of you who are unaware," His eyes landed on Natsumi once more, "the festival will be held one week from now, you have all been training individually to work on the things that you need to improve upon to be at your best for the festival, we will be continuing to train individually today."

"Oh yeah, you totally missed the Sports Festival announcement, Natsu-chan! I bet you're excited to show everyone what you've got!" Ashido angled her chin over her shoulder, her lips splayed into a cheeky grin.

"If you plan on competing, Kurosawa, I would suggest that you complete your makeup assignments in a timely manner otherwise you will not be permitted to join your classmates at the Festival." At Aizawa's words, all excitement that had begun to build up in the pit of her stomach fizzled out.

A chorus of 'not fair!'s and 'you can't do that!' rose from her classmates in protest of their homeroom teacher's announcement.

"No worries, I'll help you get caught up!" Ochako grinned, pumping her fist in the air.

"I will happily assist you with your studies." Yaoyorozu added with a soft gaze and congenial smile.

"I'll help with whatever I can, too!" Kirishima grinned toothily.

"Ah, thank you so much everyone." Natsumi's lips twitched into a bright, appreciative smile as she stared out across the classroom at all of the faces beaming back at her. Seeing everyone so bright and willing to help her brought on a mess of emotions that she wasn't accustomed to but had been feeling a lot of that day.

It was nice to feel wanted.

* * *

"Who was the first Hero on the scene of the Kyoto Riots of '45, placing themselves between the rioters and the water cannons aimed at them?" Todoroki's eyes roved over the words printed on the study guide on the table to his left while he picked at his cold noodles with his chopsticks.

The silver haired teen bit her lip, scrunching her nose in concentration as she mulled over the question. She not only had to shove a plethora of information that she had missed over the last week from all classes into her head in a short amount of time but also had to focus on the information that they were presently learning in class as well. All in all, it was a lot to learn and keep up with.

"Uh…" Crimson eyes met with turquoise and stormy grey, her lips tipping into a sheepish smile, "can I have a hint?"

He rolled his eyes, "You'll never learn it if I keep giving you the answers."

"Ah, you're right, you're right." She apologized with a chuckle, taking a bite out of the rice sitting on the table in front of her.

"You never answered my question earlier."

"I can't remember which hero was—"

"Not that one." He shook his head, "Why did Bakugou, of all people, bring you lunch?"

"Oh!" She let out a loud bark of laughter as she recalled the annoyed blond slamming the tray of food down onto the table in front of her, nearly spilling the rice and fish all over the place before stalking away, "I challenged him to a game of Smash Bros. and he lost."

Todoroki quirked one eyebrow high above the other, his lips twitched at the corners, "And he actually honored the bet? That's impressive."

"Thanks, I was pretty surprised that he stayed true to his word too."

Todoroki nodded his head, focusing on his soba while glancing over the study guide again to decide what question he should ask her next.

"I think it was Aomori, right?" She spoke suddenly, piquing his curiosity, "The first Hero who stepped in to protect the rioters from the police."

He shifted his stare from her to the study guide to confirm the answer scribbled beneath the question, "That's right."

"Mind if we sit here?" Ashido tilted her head to the side cutely, lips pulled back into a friendly grin as she and half of the class stood behind her.

"We're here to help you study, Natsu-chan!" Ochako beamed, placing her tray down on the table next to Natsumi before digging through her bag and pulling out a notebook and laying it out on the table in front of her, "I brought all of my notes, I'll quiz you too!"

From the corner of her eye Natsumi noticed Todoroki stiffen in his seat, heterochromatic eyes slightly narrowed at the newcomers but he stayed silent, finishing his meal and ignoring the chatter going on around him. No more questions were asked by him as their classmates took over the study session, everyone pulling out their own notes.

* * *

When the dismissal bell rang at the end of the day Natsumi felt herself heave a sigh of relief, she was grateful to all of her classmates for stepping in and helping her go over all of the information that she had missed during her absence. But at the same time, it had been incredibly exhausting having to keep up with all the conversations going on at once and taking in so much new material that she was just ready to go home and relax a little before having to come back the next day and start all over again.

The Sports Festival was only a week away and if she wanted to compete then she would need to be at the top of her game both physically and mentally. She wasn't terribly worried about Quirk Training right now, _Though, everyone else is taking this so seriously, maybe I should spend a little time at the gym…_

Chairs scraped against the tiled floor in a cacophonic medley that almost made her ears bleed as her classmates rose from their seats to either leave or chat amongst themselves. She wasn't in the mood for anymore loud conversations where she felt the need to keep a grin plastered on her face or work on keeping a light and excited tone to her voice.

She noticed that her seatmate had begun to pack his bag, carefully putting away his notebook and textbook into his backpack before noticing her crimson gaze on him and quirked a curious brow in response.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare. Are you still coming over to help me study? I can make us dinner."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Why not? I did say I would."

She wasn't sure why that simple answer had brought so much warmth to her but it did, she could hardly contain her excitement as her lips pulled back into an eager smile, "Okay, great. We'll just have to stop by the market on the way home so I can pick up some ingredients for dinner."

* * *

Grocery shopping with Todoroki Shouto had been an interesting experience. He was an intelligent teen, there was no doubt about that, but when it came to everyday things such as shopping, he was absolutely clueless, Natsumi had quickly figured out.

"Just grabbing a few things, I figured since you're helping me, I'd make your favorite meal." She bit back a laugh as he gave her a questioning look, "Cold soba, which I'm only assuming is your favorite meal because you have literally never gotten anything other than that during lunch time."

He shrugged his shoulders and hummed thoughtfully, "No point in getting something different when I already know what I like."

"Well, variety is the spice of life, you know." She grabbed a bag of soba noodles from the shelf and tossed it into her hand basket, "Sooner or later you're going to get sick of eating the same thing over and over again."

"When that day comes I will let you pick my next meal." His lips twitched at the corners.

Natsumi glanced over her shoulder at him for a moment before a small smile stretched her pale lips upwards, "All right, I'll hold you to that. I've got great taste so I won't steer you wrong."

She finished grabbing ingredients for their dinner as well as a few extra things that she needed in general and shuffled towards the self-checkout with Todoroki following behind her, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his uniform pants.

"I can carry those for you." Todoroki motioned towards the two grocery bags filled with their dinner ingredients.

Natsumi quickly glanced down at the plastic bags, her fingers hovering above the handles before firmly wrapping around them and lifting them off of the self-checkout carousal, "It's fine, I got 'em. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate the sentiment."

He shrugged his shoulders as they headed through the automatic doors and back out into the bright afternoon sun. As they walked back towards her apartment in silence he found himself steeling glances in her direction, quick subtle looks from the corner of his eye.

She had a small, wistful smile adorning her lips and he briefly wondered what it was that she could be thinking about, clearly lost in her own little world. He wasn't sure why he had agreed to help her study in the first place, he had his own life to worry about and he typically didn't care to insert himself in the lives of others. Maybe it was because of what happened during USJ, he was curious about her and her past, he had witnessed her strength first hand and he wanted to know more about how she was trained and what she knew. Maybe it was something as simple as the fact that she kept him company at lunch, even though he never asked for a meal companion it was nice to have someone there sometimes, even if they just ate in silence.

They stopped in front of the tall grey concrete building that Todoroki had visited the night before to drop off her school assignments, a quick glance in her direction confirmed that she had now pulled herself out of her thoughts and had come back to the world of the living.

He hadn't had much time to really look at the building that she called home the night before but now that he was standing there, he realized that the building didn't seem to be kept in the best shape. Briefly, he wondered if the complex was up to code.

The steps leading to the front door were chipped and worn, dandelions growing out of the cracks in the cement. The side of the building had what appeared to be graffiti spray painted in various colors on it, before he could take a closer look, he was being beckoned inside by the silver haired girl who he had agreed to help out. He quickened his pace to meet her inside.

Once they made it up to her apartment and took their shoes off at the door Natsumi shuffled into the kitchen and began pulling the store bought items out of her grocery bags. He wandered over to the fish tank in the corner of her living room, heterochromatic eyes following the movement of the brightly colored fish inside as they darted around the live rock.

He watched them for a few minutes before the sound of clattering pans brought him out of his thoughts. Todoroki made his way back towards the small kitchen area, surprised to see that his classmate had already begun to make their dinner.

Natsumi had a pot of water on the stove to boil their noodles in, though her attention was on a small pot that she stirred periodically that held the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar mixture that would become their dipping sauce.

The dual-color haired boy, after watching her cook for a minute or two in silence, turned around and deposited his backpack on one of the dining room chairs before rifling through it to remove his notes for them to go over.

Once he had their study materials all set up he turned back around just in time to watch her drain the noodles and dump them into the ice bath.

"Have you always cooked like this for yourself?" He found himself asking, breaking the silence that had befallen them as he watched her flit about the kitchen and tend to the meal she was making for the two of them.

She almost jumped at hearing his voice so suddenly, she had gotten so caught up in cooking and the quiet that had enveloped the cozy little apartment that she had almost forgotten that he was there to begin with. With a sheepish smile, she answered him, "I taught myself to cook when I was really young. I got so sick of just eating junk food and stolen meals from the convenience store down the street from where I lived and my parents-" She paused, she didn't speak about her parents or her past very often, "—they, uh, were never around so I had to learn how to take care of myself from a young age."

"It's a useful skill to have." He commented, watching as she finished up with the sauce and noodles, pouring the noodles into a strainer while running cold water over them before portioning them out into two individual bowls.

Tilting her head curiously as she carried the two bowls out to the table she frowned, "Were you never taught how to cook?"

He shrugged, "It wasn't something that my father deemed necessary for me to learn. That, and we had a chef who would come and prepare meals for us."

She let out a low, impressed whistle while offering him a teasing smile, "Damn, my life would've been so much easier if I had someone cooking for me."

Todoroki shifted his weight, walking into the small kitchenette to retrieve the two tiny bowls that contained their dipping sauce and bringing it back out to the table. Natsumi followed after him and poured them two glasses of green tea before settling down in the seat across from Todoroki.

Ruby red silently watched the boy across from her, analyzing his every facial movement to determine what his opinion on the meal was. Todoroki was always hard to read, but watching him dip the noodles clutched between his pair of chopsticks into the sauce and lifting them to his lips she suddenly felt self-conscious of her cooking. Sure, it was a simple meal, pretty hard to screw up, but for some reason she wanted his approval.

He arched a curious eyebrow at her, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing his mouthful of noodles, "What? Is there something on my face?"

She shook her head and laughed sheepishly, "No, no. Sorry, I know you're a soba connoisseur…how did I do?"

Todoroki blinked, returning her gaze with a contemplative stare, "It's good."

Natsumi's lips twitched into a small smile at his words before adding in a teasing tone, "Good to know I can do _something_ right."

They finished their meal in silence, Natsumi clearing away their dishes afterwards while Todoroki prepared their study material, mentally going over which questions he was going to ask her first. When she returned to the table, he had a sizeable stack of papers in front of him.

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied with a small smile.

"Before Heroism became a profession, criminals ran rampant across the country, people were disappearing left and right—what was the main cause for those disappearances?"

"Well, aside from murder being a big thing…Quirk Trafficking was also a huge deal back then. I'm sure it still is, we just don't hear about it. But back then the crime syndicates were all doing it—if you were born with a desirable quirk then you were at risk of being kidnapped and used for profit." She answered easily.

He read over the notes scribbled on the paper he was holding before nodding in confirmation that she had answered correctly. They continued on like this for several more hours, him reading off questions from her study guide while she answered back. There were times when she was uncertain of the answer and he would give her tiny hints, but never would outright give her the answer—he made her arrive at a conclusion on her own.

As the night progressed, she began to feel more and more confident with her knowledge on the History of Heroes and Quirks, English, and Modern Literature.

"I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your day to come and help me study." She spoke softly, appreciatively, as she walked him to the door.

Todoroki shrugged indifferently, "No problem."

* * *

Classes had gone by exceedingly slow the next day, Natsumi was feeling the familiar tug of exhaustion at the back of her mind. She had been up late after Todoroki had left, making a surprise for him to show her gratitude but since he had already stayed rather late helping her study that only meant that she had not been able to go to bed until much _much_ later than she would have wanted.

Stifling a yawn, Natsumi packed away her belongings and prepared to leave the classroom and head to the cafeteria. Glancing around, she noticed that she was one of the only people left in the room, she had been so caught up in her own thoughts and battle with exhaustion that she hadn't even heard the lunch bell ring.

She gently pulled out a box wrapped in red cloth, tied off with a white ribbon, her fingers delicately wrapped around the sides of the container, holding it tightly against her chest as she left the room. She wasn't even sure if he liked sweets to begin with let alone strawberry, but she felt the need to do _something_ to show her appreciation for his help.

As she was rounding a corner, she felt herself collide with another student and immediately clutched the confectionary box in her hand protectively. She quickly glanced down to make sure that the box hadn't been dented or jostled in the accident before turning to the boy that she had walked in to, noticing that his lilac eyes were giving her the once over.

"Ah, sorry about that. Wasn't watching where I was going." She apologized with a tired smile.

The boy gave no indication that he had heard her, his blank stare and thin-lipped expression unnerving her. She took in his appearance during this time, his hair was a messy deep amethyst with spikes sticking out every which way. He was taller than her by a decent amount, making his expression almost seem condescending in nature as he stared down at her.

"No worries." He finally said after an incredibly awkward moment of silence, "So you're that villain girl from 1-A, huh?"

Natsumi reeled back from the comment, lips drawn back into a scowl. Was that how the rest of the school saw her? She was just that _villain girl_ that had weaseled her way into the Hero Course? Her mood was instantly soured by this interaction.

Now on guard, she unclenched her jaw and met his lazy stare with a determined gaze of her own, "Hate to break it to you but I'm no villain and I plan on changing everyone's perception of me by exceeding all expectations and becoming a Hero."

The slight quirk of his lips let her know that he was amused by her words, "Calm down, I know what it's like to be seen as the bad guy. I'm not here to judge. Just here to say that if someone like you can make it into the Hero Course then I'll have no problem getting in after the Sports Festival."

 _Oh_. He was one of the kids who couldn't originally get into the Hero Course, that's why he was bitter. It all clicked in her head now that she thought about it. From what she knew of the entrance exams there had been hundreds of kids competing for a coveted spot in the Hero Course—a select few got in, but those who weren't exceptional enough to make it in but still had potential to become Heroes were placed in the other courses such as the Business Course or General Studies. He must not have stood out enough during the exam.

Briefly, she wondered what his Quirk could be.

"Well, if you truly know what it's like to be seen as the bad guy then maybe next time you'll think before you outright insult someone that you know nothing about. I'm here to make something of myself, the same as you, and I'm working hard to prove that I deserve to be here." Ruby eyes narrowed, locking with tired lilac.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them up in mock surrender, his lips curled into a lazy smirk, "Hey, I get it. People like us have to work harder for what we want."

She admired his determination and resolve, though his delivery needed work, "Anyone can become a Hero regardless of their past or their Quirk. You just need to work on your people skills."

A low chuckle rumbled past his parted lips, "Maybe so. I look forward to speaking again, Kurosawa."

Caught off guard by his use of her name, she called out to him after he had already turned and begun to walk away from her, "What's your name?"

He stopped but didn't fully turn around, instead he angled his chin over his shoulder and glanced back at her, "Shinsou Hitoshi."

* * *

Still rather annoyed by her run in with Shinsou, Natsumi made it to the cafeteria and scanned the crowds for that familiar head of peppermint hair. Once locked onto her target, she made a beeline for him with the box tucked safely under her arm.

"Here." She took the seat across from him, pushing the cloth wrapped box towards him.

Understandably, Todoroki was confused by the action and stared down at the gift with an arched eyebrow before turning his gaze back to her, "What's this?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, "Just a little 'thank you' for helping me last night. We covered a lot of material, thankfully I should be fine to go over the rest of it by myself but I just wanted to show my gratitude."

He quietly pulled on the ribbon to unravel the bow that kept the cloth tied around the confectionary box before carefully opening the box to reveal a strawberry tart. The crust was golden brown and looked like the perfect balance between firm and flaky, the shell was filled with a light pastry cream and atop that Natsumi had cut up strawberries and arranged them in a geometric pattern.

"Did you make this?"

She nodded, lips upturned, "Yeah, after you left I started making it. I wasn't sure what type of desserts you liked, if you even liked sweets to begin with, so I just took a shot in the dark."

Turquoise and stormy grey eyes silently observed her for a moment before turning back to the pastry sitting in front of him on the table. If he hadn't known that she had made that tart he would have assumed that it had been purchased from a local French bakery.

Todoroki lifted his gaze to meet her's, "Thank you."

A tray suddenly slammed down in front of her, causing both students to glance up at the offended, Natsumi in surprise while Todoroki remained indifferent. Bakugou had his typical scowl plastered across his face as he turned on his heel and stalked off.

"How's that for service?" Kirishima walked by with a group of their classmates, marveling at the tray of food that the retreating ash blond had just deposited infront of the silver haired girl, "What do I have to do to get Mr. Sunshine to buy _me_ lunch?" He joked, lips pulled back into a toothy grin.

"Ohh, maybe Bakugou-kun's got a soft spot for Natsu-chan!" Ashido gushed, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"No way, looks like you've got some competition Todoroki-kun!" Kaminari added with a wink.

Todoroki stared blankly at the trio, unbothered by their comments and continuing to eat his noodles. He chanced a glance over at his seat mate and confirmed that she wasn't as unbothered as he was. Quirking a brow, he watched as her face tinged a light pink from embarrassment while her brow twitched in annoyance.

"Trust me, no one is out here vying for my affection." Natsumi answered, eyes slightly narrowed at the three.

The pink haired teen shared a look with the blond before shrugging her shoulders, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Natsu-chan."

Kirishima watched the two tease the ruby eyed girl for a moment, chuckling to himself before turning his attention back to the two sitting down, "Hey, did you make that? I didn't know you could bake."

"What? No fair! That looks so professional, I want one!" Ashido frowned, peering down at the tart.

Natsumi bit back a smile, before letting a small sigh escape her lips, "When I have a little more time, I'll make something for the whole class."

"Sweet! I can't wait to try it!" Kaminari pumped his fist in the air excitedly, grinning down at her.

* * *

Omg I'm so sorry this took so long for me to update. So many things have happened in my life since my last update, so many big changes (unfortunately none of which are really all that happy) so I've taken a break from writing and just kind of been figuring things out.

This chapter was supposed to be a really long one but that was taking me too long so I cut it in half and the parts that I took off will be in the next chapter. I just wanted to get something out because you've all waited way too long for this so instead of one reallllllly long chapter you'll get an average-ish chapter haha.

I will do my best to finish what I currently have written for the next chapter as quickly as I can.

Also, super excited about Shinsou's entrance. He's actually one of my favorite characters, I can't wait for him and Natsu to have more interactions together!


	9. Chapter 9

Once settled back into their seats after lunch, the class rumbled with excited theories of what they could possibly be doing in Hero Training. It was unanimously everyone's favorite part of the day, they were aspiring Heroes after all, getting to hone their skills was what everyone looked forward to.

Aizawa-sensei entered the room shortly after the tardy bell rang, his tired eyes roaming over his students a moment before he spoke, "Today we will be working on hand to hand combat."

The class seemed split down the middle in their responses to that, it was mainly the teens who were already physically strong who were voicing their excitement. Whereas Kaminari, Mineta, and several other of Natsumi's classmates let out a groan at the thought of training without the use of their Quirks.

Their homeroom teacher continued, ignoring his class' reactions. "While honing your Quirk is very important it is equally as imperative that you learn how to fight and defend yourself should a situation arise where you are unable to use your Quirk." He pointedly stared at several students in particular, Bakugou being one of them, "Some of you rely too heavily on your Quirks as is, in order to be a successful Hero you will need to have a wide range of skills and abilities to fall back on. Go change into your gym uniforms and then meet back here to follow me to the Dojo you will be training in."

The class dispersed to go change into their athletic uniform as quickly as possible so as not to invoke the wrath of their homeroom teacher. Once everyone had made it back to the classroom Aizawa motioned for them to follow.

"Hell yeah, I'm excited to learn some new moves!" Kirishima grinned as the class began to move in unison to trail after Aizawa-sensei.

"Learning how to defend yourself in combat is very important, not just for Hero work but also to protect yourself as well. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can today." Yaoyorozu's gentle smile eased the nerves of those around her who were feeling anxious about their afternoon exercise. Mainly Mineta who seemed to be sweating bullets at the prospect of having to go up against any one of his classmates who towered over him.

Natsumi tilted her head and muttered, more to herself than anyone else, "I haven't sparred in a while, I'm really excited about today's activity."

"Oi, Ice Bitch."

She rolled her eyes and let out a loud, audible groan as Bakugou called over his shoulder to her.

"I want a fucking rematch, if I win, I don't have to bring you lunch anymore."

She paused mid-step before quickly apologizing to Todoroki who had been walking behind her and had to step aside to avoid bumping into her. Natsumi resumed her pace, a small amused smirk pulling at the corners of her lips, "And give up my free lunches? Oh, I don't think so."

The ash blond let out a feral growl, "Either way, I'll enjoy kicking your ass."

"You do realize that this is a training exercise, right? Meaning, that the teachers will be pairing us as they see fit so chances of us being put together are pretty low." She laughed before adding in a teasing tone, "Though, I would _love_ to beat your sorry ass all over again."

"I'll fucking kill you!" Bakugou snarled, ready to lunge at her if it weren't for Kirishima and Sero holding him back as Natsumi let out a bark of laughter in response to his attitude.

"I see you two are as close as ever." Todoroki commented from beside her with a raised brow.

She nearly jumped at the sudden sound of his voice, ruby eyes glanced up and were instantly met with stormy grey and turquoise. He was regarding her silently with that same unreadable expression that drove her crazy—she hated not being able to figure out what someone was thinking and he was so good at keeping his mask in place.

"Maybe a little _too_ close, I think he's obsessed with me." She whispered back, almost conspiratorially.

"It does seem that way, doesn't it?"

"All right class, enter here and be sure to pay attention to what you're taught as it will come up on later exams." Aizawa drawled, ushering the class through a pair of double doors that lead into a large open space with grey matted flooring.

Standing at the head of the room was a man who had to be at least 6'8" in height, his arms were crossed over his chest but the students could tell, even from the distance they were at, that he was well built from the way his muscles bulged. His skin was a rich umber hue that was further complemented by a thick head of dark tightly bound curls that he had pulled back into a bun. What stood out the most, however, were his eyes; a bright glacial blue, almost white in color.

"W-wait a minute." Midoriya muttered from the head of the group, emerald eyes wide in recognition, "That's Akimatsu Ken'ichi the Shield Hero, Tank!"

The man grinned, his eyes landing on the small mossy haired boy, "That's Akimatsu-sensei while you're in my Dojo."

"Y-yes sensei!" Midoriya straightened up nervously at being called out.

"I will be teaching you hand to hand combat as well as defensive maneuvers this year. Today we will be focusing more on defensive strategies. I will be showing you some moves that you will then copy and use against your partner. Your goal today is to learn how to successfully block an oncoming attack without taking damage." His voice was loud and deep, echoing across the empty gym.

Bakugou scowled at that. He had no need for defensive tactics if he didn't plan on getting hit in the first place. The lesson, all in all, seemed like a complete waste of time to him. What was the point of learning combat training if he wasn't able to beat the shit out of someone?

"The pairings will be as follows," He pulled out a piece of notebook paper from his pocket, squinting down at it and reading off the names that he had scribbled down hastily before class, "Bakugou Katsuki and Midoriya Izuku."

Midoriya let out a startled cry, glancing over at the ash blond who seemed eager to ruin someone's day—specifically, Midoriya's. The mossy haired boy bit his lip anxiously, already knowing the outcome of this exercise.

More names were called out and those people moved to stand with their designated partners, excitedly awaiting the rest of the names to be called so that they could begin their lesson.

"Kurosawa Natsumi and Mineta Minoru."

Natsumi's face fell as soon as her partner was named, ruby eyes sliding over to the purple haired boy who bounded over to her, a string of drool dribbling down his chin no doubt from some perverse thought.

"Sensei, you didn't call my name and everyone is already paired up…" Ojiro frowned, glancing around at his classmates before turning back to their instructor.

"Ah, sorry about that, math was never my strong suit." Akimatsu-sensei chuckled, "You will be paired with my assistant, she will keep you on your toes. I will be supervising everyone and correcting your form when the need arises." He addressed the class as a whole with the final part.

"All right, I'll be demonstrating some very basic defense techniques with the help of my assistant, be sure to pay close attention." He grinned.

A young girl stepped through the double doors and made her way towards the front of the room to stand beside the teacher. She appeared to be a fellow student but was most definitely older than the teens of 1-A. She wore the U.A gym uniform, her long blonde hair tied back in a messy bun, deep amethyst eyes stared out over the class with interest.

"I'm Amehara Yuuna, second year and assistant to Akimatsu-sensei." Her lips pulled back into a bright smile, giving a little wave to the first years.

"Alright, let's begin! Amehara-san will help me demonstrate proper techniques that you will then, in turn, replicate and use on your partners. You will switch back and forth with one of you playing the part of the offender while the other tries to defend the attacks. Does everyone understand?" Glacial eyes scanned over the group of students standing before him, when they all cheered 'Yes, sensei!' he nodded to himself and turned to face the blonde second year.

"Alright, we'll show you in real time what the moves are going to look like and then we will break it down and repeat them in slow motion for you to see, got it?" Amehara spoke up before turning her attention to her sensei and crouching down into a defensive stance.

Akimatsu rushed forward, swinging his fist towards her gut, Amehara brought her arm down and deflected the blow while pulling her other fist back and attempting to strike her sensei in his chest while he was distracted. Unfortunately for her her blow did not land, he was able to swiftly shield himself from her attack by bringing his arm down at an angle to block.

This went on for a few moments, class 1-A having a difficult time following along as the two exchanged blows and blocks at such a speed that made keeping up seem impossible. After what seemed like an eternity of the two going back and forth, seemingly forgetting that they had an audience in the first place, they stopped and turned towards the class

"Alright, now we'll break it down slowly for you. Pay close attention to the form, each movement must be precise or else you risk taking damage and possibly breaking a bone in the middle of a fight."

Suddenly, nearly all eyes were on Midoriya who let out a startled squeak at the attention from his classmates.

"Watch my movements as Akimatsu-sensei goes in to strike me. I'm moving my arm like this to deflect his attack but the exact angle that I'm holding it will keep it from breaking beneath the pressure of his blow. This is key to keeping yourself safe during an attack." Amehara's eyes remained trained on her mentor as he moved in slow motion towards her, the class watched in bated breath.

"Alright, please get together with your partner and find a space on the floor to practice what we've just shown you. I will be observing each of you and will step in to assist if need be." Akimatsu announced, motioning for the teens to begin their training exercise.

Natsu inwardly groaned at the thought of having to work with, quite possibly, the creepiest kid she had ever met—and she had met her fair share of weirdos in the Underworld during her parents' reign. But there was just something so unsettling about the purple haired boy and it didn't help that he always had some sort of perverse thing to say when it came to the girls in their class. His very existence set her off and she wasn't so sure she'd be able to control herself completely if he said something or made one wrong move towards her during their training exercise.

 _Just give me an excuse to knock you out. I dare you._

The pairs around them began to work together, using the knowledge they had attained during the demonstration. Natsumi and Mineta stood across from each other, the very obvious difference in height making the whole thing more awkward than it already was. She was waiting for him to make the first move as the attacker but he stood where he was, seemingly too nervous to make a move.

"Hey, not sure if you understood the point of the exercise at all but you're supposed to come at me and I'm supposed to block your attack. Then we switch off and you do the same." She explained slowly, trying her best to keep the irritation she was feeling from seeping into her voice.

Mineta straightened up, almost surprised that she was talking to him in the first place, "Y-you're giving me permission to touch you?" He stammered, a determined look suddenly alight in his dark, beady eyes as he scrambled forward with his arms outstretched, fingers reaching for her.

Natsumi rolled her eyes and groaned, he was completely missing the entire point of the exercise and letting his crazed imagination get the better of him. He was small and quick which was the one thing that gave him any sort of advantage, but she was determined not to let his grimy little hands touch her in any way.

As he neared her, she crouched forward, angling her arm in the same way that Amehara-senpai had to block the attack. Mineta was a little quicker than her in that moment, however, and ducked below her arm before jumping up and clinging to her abdomen. His eyes glazed over as he rubbed his face against her stomach, a string of drool oozing out of the corner of his lips and creating a wet spot on her gym uniform.

Natsumi cried out in surprised outrage, completely forgetting the initial rules of the exercise dictating that that were prohibited from using their Quirks. She placed her rime coated palms on either side of him, allowing the frost to slowly move from her hands onto his shoulders, slowly enveloping him in a thin layer of ice.

"N-n-not f-f-air! C-c-cold!" He cried through chattering teeth as Natsumi tightly gripped his shoulders and threw him off of her roughly. His partially frozen body collided with the matted floor, skidding across it several feet.

A couple of her classmates paused in their own matches to watch the exchange curiously.

"Hey, hey. What did I say about the use of Quirks?" Akimatsu-sensei called out, voice stern and hands on his hips, "Don't make me come over there."

"Sorry, force of habit." She shrugged, crimson eyes watching her partner warily as he began to pull himself back to his feet and brush off the melting ice from his uniform.

"You ready to _properly_ try this again?" Natsumi narrowed her eyes, hoping that the emphasis in her tone was enough for him to understand.

"You ready to fucking die, _Deku_?" The ash blond smirked, readying himself for Midoriya's oncoming attack.

The mossy haired boy faltered at his childhood friend's choice of words; he should have been used to that sort of talk by now but it always took him by surprise. Midoriya shook his head and rushed forward, aiming a blow to Bakugou's abdomen to which he immediately blocked with his arm, just as they had been shown.

The temperamental blond used his other hand to land a rough blow against Midoriya's shoulder during the smaller boy's moment of distraction, successfully knocking him off balance. Midoriya stumbled backwards a few steps before running forward once more, determination alight in his dark emerald eyes.

Bakugou sneered, tiny sparks lighting up the tips of his fingertips as the smaller boy came at him once more. Just the mere sight of _Deku_ was enough to make his anger bubble up inside of him, that pathetic boy who always tried his best to look on the bright side of every situation—it made Bakugou absolutely _furious_ just looking at his stupid face.

He grit his teeth and balled his fists, reeling his arm back and aiming a punch at Midoriya's face. Luckily, the smaller boy was quick enough to bring both arms up, crossing them to protect his face from the attack.

"K-Kacchan!"

"Hey! No hits to the face! And what did I say about Quirks? Don't think I didn't see those pretty little fireworks of yours, kid." Akimatsu growled out, his voice sounding almost tired at having to repeat himself so soon.

Bakugou rolled his eyes, his irritation for not only Midoriya but the instructor growing by the minute. He had no interest in learning these stupid defensive techniques, he really just wanted to hit something and Midoriya was the perfect target to take his aggressions out on.

"Kacchan, we are here to practice defensive and blocking maneuvers, can we put our differences aside for the sake of this exercise?"

"Shut the fuck up." The explosive older boy growled, carmine eyes narrowed. He stalked forward, the action making Midoriya straighten up and reposition his feet to stand his ground. Bakugou pulled his fist back, letting it fly towards the boy's stomach once more. Of course, Midoriya was ready for that and was able to block it with ease. However, what he wasn't ready for was the swift kick to the side, sending him flying backwards and sprawling onto the matted floor.

At that very moment, across the room Natsumi had yanked Mineta off of her and slammed him against the floor, fingers wrapped around his throat.

"Touch me again and see where that gets you." She seethed, ruby eyes glaring down at the terrified boy who struggled against her grip. He seemed torn between his fear and excitement at being pinned beneath an attractive girl.

A whistle abruptly blew in rapid succession, piercing the air around the students of 1-A and successfully halting any and all movement as all eyes turned to face the teacher at the front of the room. He stepped off of his platform, silver whistle dropping from his lips and bouncing against his chest as he strolled forward, arms crossed sternly across his chest.

"The majority of you are doing great, keep up the good work. However, two teams," His eyes darted between Bakugou and Natsumi's teams, "have made me yell out more than once and I'm starting to feel a little frustrated by it. I don't like to yell, do I Amehara?"

From somewhere off to the side, where the young blonde haired girl had been sparring with Ojiro she piped up, "You sure don't! It makes your throat sore and in turn makes you _super_ unpleasant to be around because you just complain about it all—"

He rolled his eyes, " _Okay_ , I think they get it." He turned his attention back to the first years, "Point of the matter is that I don't think I've ever had to stop class in the middle of practice but watching you two interact with your partners in such a dangerous capacity has me questioning a lot of things—one of which is your ability to work well with others."

Natsumi could feel the eyes of her classmates at her back and she slowly uncurled her fingers from Mineta's throat and rolled off of him, pulling herself to her feet. The terrified boy scrambled to his feet and skittered away.

"I'm willing to give you both one more chance before I take action and subtract from your grade for the day."

"May I suggest that maybe we switch partners?" Natsumi proposed hopefully.

He seemed to consider her suggestion for a moment, his glacial eyes piercing through her while he mulled over his options before, finally, letting out a sigh, "That's probably for the best considering you both tried to kill your partners. Alright, we'll switch it up; Kurosawa and Midoriya will be partnered and Bakugou and Mineta will also be partnered. Now, I don't want to have to speak to you two again so play nice." He turned on his heel and strode back over to the front of the room to resume his observations over the class.

Bakugou's cold carmine eyes narrowed on Midoriya, "You lucked out this time." Before he stalked away to find his next target. Mineta cowered, under the ash blond's carmine glare.

The rest of the class resumed their practice with their partners while Natsumi strode over to the mossy haired boy, a lopsided grin pulling at the corners of her lips as she met up with him.

"Do I even want to know what happened?" Midoriya teased with a light chuckle.

"Ah, you know, just Mineta being his usual creep self." She shrugged.

"Well, here's hoping I'm a better partner than your last one." He grinned, running a hand through his unruly, mop of green curls.

"Likewise, I hope I can live up to your high expectations of what a partner should be." She joked, raking her fingers through her snow-white waves before pulling it back into a high ponytail to keep it out of her face.

The two squared off, taking turns exchanging blows and blocking each time the other went for a hit. It felt like a well-choreographed dance, the two teens bouncing back on the balls of their feet before jumping back in for more. Natsumi had to admit that Midoriya was a _much_ better partner than the purple haired pervert had been, that was for sure.

"You know…" He started almost warily, glancing up at her as they practiced.

She hummed, urging him to continue with his thought.

Midoriya bit his lip anxiously, "I've been w-wanting to apologize."

That piqued her interest, she swung around and jabbed at his mid-section but he quickly brought his arm down to counter, "Apologize for what?"

"I never reached out or tried to visit you when you were suspended." He huffed, out of breath from the workout they were getting. It was much more labor intensive than he thought it would be, he was enjoying having her as a partner rather than the angry blond though, at least she wasn't trying to kill him. Not yet at least.

Her lips formed an 'oh' at what he had said but she made no move to respond, instead she threw her body at him, trying to catch him off guard but he was on it and swung around, jutting his elbow out to strike her. She was pretty quick to counter the attack with a jab of her own, neither of them getting an hits in edgewise.

"It's just been on my mind for a while now. I'm sorry, Natsumi-chan. I was stupid and bought into the rumors—everyone did—I shouldn't have, we shouldn't have, but it was so easy when it was all everyone else was talking about." He admitted, voice going soft and eyes downcast before meeting her with a small smile, but the guilt was still shining brightly in his eyes, "You know, it was actually Kirishima and _Kacchan_ who had spoken up first in your defense."

Natsumi felt rather taken aback by such a revelation. She had suspected that her classmates had fallen prey to the rumors circulating around campus about her, she had hoped that they would have thought better of her but…she really couldn't blame them. Afterall, she _was_ the daughter of two prolific villains and her actions at USJ would have looked incredibly suspicious to anyone on the outside looking in. But it still hurt to hear it, especially from Midoriya.

"I think everyone was surprised when it turned out to be Kacchan, of all people, to bring us back to our senses."

"You know…during that time, he was the only one that came to visit me." She admitted quietly.

Midoriya faltered at her words, feeling a mixture of guilt and shock by her reveal. Guilt, because out of everyone in their entire class…only one person came to see her when she needed it the most. Shock, because out of everyone…it was _Bakugou_ who visited her.

While he was distracted by his own thoughts, she took that as her opportunity to land a strike against his abdomen, sending him stumbling backwards. That pulled him out of his stupor and he quickly regained his balance, incredulous emerald eyes catching Natsumi's gaze.

Her lips pulled back into a mischievous smirk, "Midoriya-kun, seriously don't worry about it. I don't hold it against you or any of the others. Honestly, I probably would've believed the rumors too if I were in your shoes."

"I promise I'll work harder to be a better friend." He declared, lips twitching into a sincere smile.

Before she had time to respond, a loud commotion caught their attention. Turning to get a better look, Natsumi and Midoriya exchanged unsurprised looks as Bakugou roared with anger, chasing after a squealing Mineta.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?!" The angry blond growled, sparks flying from his finger tips as he ran after the tiny teen who was quick on his feet.

"I-I w-w-was j-just making an o-observation!" Mineta screamed, dodging in and out of bodies in an attempt to get as far away from the angry blond.

"Well you were fucking wrong, grape boy." Bakugou seethed, eyes narrowed.

"What do you think Mineta-san said to set Bakugou-san off so bad?" Hagakure asked Jirou curiously.

"Who knows, it could literally be anything considering Mineta-san's creepy personality and Bakugou-kun's easily angered one." The purple haired teen shrugged, twirling one of her earlobes around her finger absently.

Akimatsu-sensei blew his whistle right as Mineta found safety hiding behind his wide, muscular legs. The dark-skinned man narrowed his eyes disapprovingly as Bakugou skidded to a halt mere inches from colliding with the irritated teacher.

"I'm very disappointed in the way you kids are actin', this behavior is not befitting of a Hero in the making." He started, arms crossed over his chest as he stared the indignant ash blond down, "I'm going to use this as an opportunity, however. Learn from these two—do not let words spoken during battle get to you, your enemies will use any tactic possible to distract you and get under your skin. If you allow their words to get to you then you're no longer focused on the fight and that can cost you your life."

Bakugou scowled at being called out, carmine eyes narrowed and unwavering as they met the hardened icy gaze of their teacher. The rest of the class watched quietly, nodding their heads at the sage advice given by Akimatsu-sensei.

"Alright, class dismissed."

* * *

The end of the day came soon enough, most of the class hung back to chat amongst themselves about the day and the defense techniques they had learned, some theorized about what Mineta could have said to Bakugou to set him off. Typical end of the day conversations.

Natsumi slid her chair back against the tiled floor before wrapping her fingers around the straps of her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, preparing to leave for the day. She bid her classmates goodbye and slid open the door before halting in her tracks, lips pulled into a frown and brows furrowed in confusion.

They were trapped by a sea of students crowded outside of the door, all attempting to get a glimpse of the students of 1-A.

"What's going on? Who're all these people?" Sero frowned.

"We're trapped! How're we supposed to get out?" Hagakure cried out in panic from her desk.

"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" Iida stepped forward, his voice taking on an authoritative tone.

"Why're they blocking us in?!" Mineta cried, raising a hand and pointing at the offenders.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Natsumi glanced over her shoulder towards the ash blond who had just spoken, his lips pulled back into an annoyed frown and his brows knitted together as he regarded the students blocking them in.

"They're scouting out the competition, idiots." He continued with a roll of his eyes, "We're the class that survived a full-blown villain attack, they wanted to see what we looked like with their own eyes. At least now they know what a future pro looks like, now get out of my fucking way you extras." He stood tall against the majority of the crowd, peering down at them through condescending crimson eyes. Many of the students cowered under his stare, taking a step back.

"Bakugou, you can't just go around calling people extras!" Iida exclaimed, arms waving around mechanically as he spoke.

"They're going to end up hating us because of your shit attitude." Natsumi stared impassively at him, lips pulled into a thin line.

"As if I give a fuck, they're all beneath me." He shrugged, returning his sharpened glare to the 'extras' standing before him.

"Ah, so this is the famous 1-A? I had to see for myself." Natsumi perked up as a familiar voice spoke up from the crowd, bodies moved aside to allow Shinsou passage to the front of the group, "I gotta say, you don't seem as impressive as the stories made you out to be. From where I'm standing you look more like a pompous ass than a Hero. Is everyone in your class like this, or is it just you?"

From the corner of her eye she could see her classmates tense up, each of them frantically shaking their heads or waving their arms defensively while sputtering out a jumbled mess of nonsensical words. Most likely apologies for Bakugou's atrocious behavior but with everyone speaking at once it was difficult to decipher.

"The fuck did you just say, raccoon eyes?!" The explosive blond seethed through gritted teeth.

Shinsou spared him a glance, lips pulling back into a smirk at the rise he had gotten from the boy before turning his head ever so slightly to meet Natsumi's stare, "I'm a little disappointed in your classmates, Kurosawa. Though, I suppose it'll be all the more rewarding for me when I pull the rug out from under their feet during the Sports Festival and take one of their spots here in 1-A."

She suddenly felt the curious stares of her classmates and could practically hear their burning questions as to how she knew this kid. It was Mineta who broke the awkward, tension filled silence.

"What do you mean by that?"

"He means, that if he or anyone else from the other courses do exceptionally well during the festival then they have a chance to be transferred into the hero course and vice versa—if one of us doesn't do too well then we could be transferred out." Natsumi answered without missing a beat, crimson eyes still locked with tired violet.

"Bingo." Shinsou's lips twitched for a brief moment but his expression remained deadpan as he regarded the rest of Natsumi's classmates, "Maybe the others are here to scout the competition but I'm here to tell you that if you don't bring your A-Game then I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war, 1-A."

The purple haired boy gave them one last look before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd of students as another boy emerged to declare his own challenge to class 1-A. Natsumi didn't stick around long enough to hear what the loud boy had to say, however, as she pushed her way through the mass of bodies.

Once through to the other side she glanced down the hallway just in time to catch a head of spiked purple locks rounding a corner. She took off in a light jog after him, silver curls bouncing against the back of her uniform.

"You know," She began as she caught up to him, crimson eyes watching as he paused in his step and cast a casual glance over his shoulder at her, "you'll never make any friends if you keep that up."

Shinsou tilted his chin ever so slightly towards her before bringing his shoulders up in an uncaring shrug, pulling his hand out of his pocket to wave off her statement in a dismissive manner, "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to prove myself by getting into the Hero Course."

She hummed in response before chuckling, "That was what I said too in the beginning but…those dorks grow on ya." A small, wistful smile played on her pale lips as she thought of the teens probably still trapped in their classroom, "You know, if you make it into 1-A they're not going to leave you alone until you call them your friends." She turned on her heel, calling back over her shoulder, "Just a friendly warning to a future classmate."

* * *

So originally last chapter and this chapter were supposed to be just one giant chapter, but like I said in the comments last time I just couldn't get this finished in a timely manner without making you wait even longer for it. So I had decided to just split things up.

Shinsou is one of my favorite characters and I'm really excited for him to play a part in the story and for his relationship with Natsumi to develop (though I'm excited for all of her friendships to evolve and develop).

I really appreciate everyone who liked, favorited, and especially those of you who left me reviews! Seriously, you guys are why I keep writing. I've been having a rough couple of months and to see the nice things you have to say about my story has really lifted my spirits and inspired me to keep writing and posting chapters.

Shout out to **Akagami Hime Chan** for leaving a review that seriously had me laughing so hard. YES! Natsumi's calves, at this point, are chiseled from all the stairs she has to climb everyday when she comes home. lmfao

Alsoooo, if anyone out there has any artistic abilities and would like to draw Natsumi (or even Natsu and any of her classmates together) I would cry the happiest tears ever lol!


	10. Chapter 10

The week had passed by so quickly that it made Natsumi's head spin and before she knew it the day of the Sports Festival had arrived. She was thankful to Todoroki and her classmates for assisting her with her makeup work, making it possible for her to participate in the event. She wasn't necessarily nervous about having to fight her peers, she was confident in her abilities and the control that she had over her ice. She was, however, feeling incredibly anxious over what the audience would think of her now that the metaphoric cat had been let out of the bag thanks to the incident at USJ.

What would everyone think? She was sure that there were quite a few people out there who felt uneasy about their children going to school with someone like her. Would she get boo'd and screamed at when her name was called? She really didn't want to cause any trouble for the teachers and faculty of Yūei, they had defended her and done so much for her already. She didn't want to let them down.

The past week had been a blur of training, during school hours she worked on strengthening her Quirk as well as self-defense moves. After hours she worked on her cardio and strength training, even going so far as to run up and down the stairwell in her apartment complex for hours, she was pretty sure that her neighbors hated her by now.

She had noticed the change in everyone's attitudes over the last few days, her classmates were taking their training for the festival much more seriously. With the threat of potentially being removed from the Hero Course looming over them it was not hard to see why everyone had become much more invested in their training.

Todoroki had been much more distant towards her, though she assumed it was due to his focus on his own training, though she wouldn't admit it out loud…she really missed having him as her lunch companion. He had been absent from the cafeteria for the entirety of that last week before the festival, leaving her to either sit alone some days or join Midoriya's small group.

"Ahh I'm so nervous!" Ochako bit her lip, letting out a nervous cry from beside Natsumi as they entered the stadium and noticed the sheer amount of people who were already in attendance—and they hadn't even entered the arena yet, this was just the part of the stadium where the vendors had set up to sell various snacks and trinkets.

"Yeah, knowing that all of these people are going to be watching us compete is a little daunting." Natsumi responded with a grimace, nervously fiddling with the curly wisps of bone-white hair that poked out of the end of her braid. She usually only put her hair up when in her Hero costume but she reasoned that her long curly locks would only get in her way if left down.

The bubbly brunette hummed in agreement, leaning back on the balls of her feet and taking in the festivities already in full swing around them. Various stalls lined the walk way with vendors calling out over the noise of the crowd to try and entice festival goers to buy their products. A medley of scents mingled in the air around them, spices and charred meats, sugary confections and hot fudge, steamed vegetables and rice, all reminding Natsumi that she had forgotten to eat breakfast before meeting up with her classmate at the entrance to the festival.

A loud grumble caught Ochako's attention and she immediately locked eyes with her classmate who was rubbing at the back of her neck sheepishly, "Oh! We should grab something to eat before heading in and meeting with the rest of our class."

"Good idea, I totally forgot to grab something on my way out the door this morning." The crimson eyed girl admitted almost embarrassedly.

The brunette offered a warm, understanding smile before wrapping her fingers around Natsumi's sleeve and gently tugging her forward towards the food stalls. Ochako eagerly scanned over the vendor stalls, trying to decide what to order first before turning towards her companion, "What're you in the mood for?"

Natsumi hummed in contemplation, eyes roving over the various street food options being sold before, ultimately, her attention was drawn to the sound of sizzling meat. She began moving towards the stall, fingers already reaching into her pocket to pull out what little money she had packed for the day.

"Two please!" The teen handed over exact change in exchange for two Yakitori skewers, her mouth began watering almost immediately as the aroma of seasoned chicken wafted towards her. She took a few steps back and waited for Ochako to order for herself as well, popping the tip of the skewer into her mouth and pulling off a chunk of chicken.

"Ah ah aht!" She opened her mouth, fanning herself with the hand that wasn't holding her lunch, while gingerly chewing the piece that was scalding her tongue.

The bubbly brunette giggled, "Well yeah, he literally just pulled it off the grill Natsu-chan!" She blew on her skewer for a moment before pulling off the top piece of meat and chewing it thoughtfully, "Mm, so good!"

Swallowing the burning piece of meat, Natsumi groaned, "I know, I was just overeager." She followed her friend's lead and blew on the next piece before ripping it off the skewer, this time saving her taste buds from being singed.

"I could tell!" Ochako snickered before motioning for the girl to follow, "We should probably meet up with everyone else now, huh?"

* * *

"Oh man, you had the right idea in getting something to snack on." Kaminari whined, "I wish I had grabbed something."

Jirou raised an eyebrow, "You know, there's breaks between events. You'll have plenty of time to get food during that time."

"Even more time once you get knocked out first round." Sero smirked, elbowing the blond in the side.

"Wha—hey!" The blond attempted to protest but was only met with a series of teasing glances in his direction that quickly shut him up because, he realized, that they were probably right.

"Everyone!" Iida burst through the door, "Prepare yourselves! We are entering the arena soon!"

That seemed to grab everyone's attention; backs straightened, eyes widened, and the anxiety began to set in. In a few short minutes they would be exiting the waiting room and joining the rest of the first years out on the stage, surrounded by thousands of onlookers and pro-heroes. It was absolutely nerve wracking to think of how many people would be watching them so closely.

Natsumi pulled the last piece of chicken off of her skewer, chewing it thoughtfully before shuffling over to the waste bin in the corner by the door to dispose of her trash. Right as she chucked the two skewers into the bin the door opened once more, this time Todoroki sauntered in. Her lips twitched into a small smile as she stepped forward to wish him luck but her words were lost on the tip of her tongue as he spoke first, eyes narrowed, and voice cold.

"Midoriya."

The mossy haired boy jumped to his feet, nervously staring up at the heterochromatic eyed boy, "Todoroki-san? What is it?"

"Objectively speaking, I think I'm stronger than you."

Midoriya let out a small gasp before bowing his head slightly and stuttering out a, "Y-yeah."

Todoroki's stare was cold and unwavering as he stared down at the smaller boy, "But All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he? I'm not going to pry into your personal business, but I _am_ going to beat you."

A collection of gasps erupted from their classmates.

Kaminari laughed nervously, "Oh? Is the best in the class making a declaration of war?"

Kirishima's lips pulled back into a frown as he stalked forward, placing a hand on Todoroki's shoulder, "Hey, hey. Why're you picking a fight all of the sudden? We're all friends here—"

Todoroki roughly shoved the red-head's hand off of his shoulder, his glare sliding to meet Kirishima's surprised expression, "We're not here to play at being friends." He turned on his heel and began making his way towards the door, "So what does it matter?"

Natsumi furrowed her brows, crimson eyes narrowed on the boy who was now making his way towards the exit that she had been standing idly by. Even though his words weren't specifically directed at her, they were still harsh and painful, leaving a sour taste on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to say something, _anything_ to him, but the words wouldn't form.

He wasn't here to make friends? Why had he helped her get caught up on her assignments? Why did he take the seat at her table every day at lunch time? Why did he do the things that he did? She wouldn't have called them close but…she had been sure that they could at least be considered friends.

She shook her head, _I guess I was wrong._

"Todoroki, I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me," Midoriya began, catching the attention of the icy-hot boy who stopped and glanced over his shoulder, "but of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people…"

Kirishima frowned, stepping forward, "Midoriya, you shouldn't speak so negatively!"

"But everyone—the students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got." He clenched his fists, his body trembling and eyes downcast, "I can't afford to fall behind."

Todoroki turned around fully to give Midoriya his undivided attention now, his interest piqued by what the unruly haired boy had to say. Did the smaller boy finally find his voice? Was he issuing his own challenge?

Midoriya pulled his gaze away from his shoes, a nervous habit of his, and met Todoroki's stare with unwavering determination, "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too!"

The dual-color haired boy smirked, _so he's got some fight in him afterall._ He turned to leave once more, his eyes meeting narrowed crimson on his way out. He regarded her briefly before exiting the room without another word. He had made the mistake of getting to know her in the first place, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. That's what he told himself it was, a simple fascination with someone who had a similar Quirk and also had an unconventional childhood. That's all it was, nothing more, nothing less.

"Fuck him." Natsumi spat, earning a few surprised looks from her classmates. She ignored their stares and slipped out of the room quietly, not in the mood to be around anyone. She needed to calm down before the start of the tournament, Todoroki's words had gotten her all worked up and they weren't even meant for her in the first place.

 _I cooked dinner for him, what the fuck even was that then?_ She groaned, maybe it was her fault for opening herself up to the idea of friendship again after what the twins had done. _I should've known better, I'm better off alone anyway_.

"You seem distracted."

She paused in her pacing, pulling herself out of her thoughts to meet the lazy lilac stare of Shinsou. Natsumi offered a weak smile and a slight shrug, "You could say that."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms over his chest, "Well, better get your head in the game, the tournament is about to start." His lips pulled back into a teasing smirk, "Unless you'd like to just forfeit your spot in the Hero Course to me now."

She snorted, the corners of her eyes crinkling in amusement, "Oh, you got jokes now? Don't you worry your pretty little head about me. Just focus on yourself, I'll be fine, I always am."

"You think I'm pretty?" His voice was level and nearly monotonous but she could detect an underlying playfulness to his question.

"Don't let it go to your head." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll try my best." He quipped.

The sudden sound of cheers from the roaring crowd outside caught their attention and she could hear, what sounded like Present Mic excitedly announcing the beginning of the event. She locked eyes with the violet haired teen for a brief moment, "Guess the show's about to begin." Natsumi began to walk towards the designated area where her class was to enter the field from, angling her chin over her shoulder to call back to the boy who had begun to walk back to his classroom's waiting room, "Good luck out there."

Shinsou raised his hand in acknowledgment to her comment, returning to his class to prepare for their entrance. The classes were to enter one by one, starting with the Hero Courses first and then going down the line. His class would be one of the last ones to enter the stadium.

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Ochako asked quietly from her position next to Natsumi in the tunnel that would lead them out onto the field. Class 1-A was currently standing together awaiting the cue from Present Mic to make their way out onto the stage.

Natsumi didn't fully turn to give the girl her attention, instead, she glanced at the brunette from the corner of her eye briefly, "Yeah, I'm fine."

The brunette shared a worried glance with Midoriya, but before either of them could comment on her response and attempt to get more information out of her Present Mic called for their class to enter the stadium.

The majority of the students were nervous, some even visibly shaking, but there were a few who stood tall with their heads held high and proud. Bakugou and Todoroki were among the latter.

As Natsumi emerged from the dark tunnel, stepping into the blinding bright rays of daylight she had the urge to shield her eyes from the light, but instead settled for squinting until her vision adjusted. The roaring crowd was almost deafening as they screamed and cheered for the first-year students, thunderous and nearly shaking the stadium from the sheer volume of sound.

She bit her lip, a nervous tick of hers that she probably would never get rid of. Was she nervous? Hell yes she was, but she had so much to prove. Not just to herself but to thousands of complete strangers who were likely judging her before they even had the chance to get to know her.

Also, she was now determined to show up Todoroki. His sudden 180 in attitude had thrown her for a loop and, to be quite honest, it pissed her off how aloof and dismissive he had been. Sure, he had never been the most social guy and didn't make an effort to really include himself in classroom debates or conversations but…she had been so sure that she had finally started to crack that shield he had built around himself.

 _But I was wrong._

Natsumi had been so determined to keep her classmates at an arm's length in the beginning, telling herself that she wasn't there to make friends, just like what Todoroki had expressed moments before. But her feelings had changed drastically over the course of the few weeks that she had been attending Yūei. It was hard _not_ to like them; they were all determined just like she was and they had all accepted the truth about her and her past. That was more than anything she could have possibly hoped for. So, in that regard, she also wanted to prove to her classmates that she could be a better person.

 _I_ can _be a Hero._

"These are the guys that everyone is talking about! The class who went up against full-fledged villains and came out unscathed, Hero Course Class 1-A!" Present Mic was exuberant, getting the crowd pumped for the first years to take the stage.

Class 1-A walked across the field towards the podium at the center, almost everyone feeling their nerves taking hold of them to some varying degree.

Midoriya whipped his head back and forth frantically, taking in the thousands of people sitting in the stands, all eyes on the first year students walking across the field. He could feel sweat already beginning to bead on his forehead, "T-there's s-so many p-people."

Iida, from beside the mossy haired boy, had to agree, "Will we even be able to perform to our fullest potential with all of these eyes on us? This is part of our training required to become a Hero, this will help ready us for a life in the public's eye."

Present Mic continued to announce the arrival of the rest of the classes, starting with Class 1-B, "This class hasn't been getting much air time, but they are also chock full of talent! Hero Class 1-B!"

Natsumi didn't pay much attention to the next couple of classes being announced, until General Studies was called. She whipped her head back just in time to catch a glimpse of a familiar head of lilac spikes, his head held high.

She raised her hand slightly in a small wave which caught Shinsou's attention for a moment, he offered a smirk in return, his own form of a greeting. If she wanted someone other than herself to succeed, it was him. Natsumi didn't know him well at all, having only met him one week prior, but something in her told her that he was just like her and if she deserved to make it then so did he.

As the field filled with the remaining first years, Natsumi found herself amazed by how many people actually attended Yūei…and this was just the first years! It certainly put things into perspective; most of these teens were likely vying for a spot in the Hero Course and therefore she would need to work hard to ensure that she remained in class 1-A.

"Time for the Player Pledge!" Midnight, the R rated Hero, cracked her whip and declared to the crowd. The majority of the male population present, students and onlookers alike, were preoccupied with drooling over the Heroine who was usually scantily clad. Today she was wearing a costume that was a little less revealing, but it still appeared to be skin tight and showed off every curve.

"He not only scored number one on his entrance exam, but has also maintained top academic scores in his classes so far this year, from Hero Course Class 1-A, Bakugou Katsuki. Come on up and recite the Player Pledge." She stepped aside, leaving room in front of the microphone for Bakugou to take the stage and say a few words.

The ash blond sauntered towards the stage, pushing through the crowd of students, his own classmates all exchanging looks of horror and trepidation at the thought of him, _of all people_ , representing the first years.

He made it to the stage and took his place, leaning forward just enough so there wouldn't be any feedback from the microphone when he spoke. His lips curled into a cocky smirk as he declared, "I pledge…to be number one."

It seemed as though the onlookers weren't sure how to react at first, confusion welled up within many of the people seated in the crowd before anger overtook them and boo's and disgruntled cries rang out.

"Ugh, everyone's going to hate us because of Kacchan." Midoriya whimpered, biting his lip anxiously.

Natsumi bit back her laughter as Bakugou shrugged off the disapproving glares from his peers and made his way back towards his class. She sidled up beside him, keeping her eyes on the stage as Midnight began to speak again to announce the first event.

"You know, you're gonna look even more idiotic than you just did when you come in second place."

His eyes narrowed, "Hah? No one here can even hold a candle to my greatness."

She shrugged, "I don't need to, I work best in the dark anyhow." Crimson eyes continued to stare forward, but her lips twitched into a mock-apologetic smile, "Anyways, no hard feelings when I beat you, yeah?"

"I'll fucking kill you, ice bitch." He growled lowly.

"Can't wait to see you try." She shot back.

"—an Obstacle Course!" Midnight announced.

Their focus was brought back to the center stage as the R-rated hero declared what the first event would be, the first years began to walk towards the tunnel that would lead them to their first event. Class 1-A were, naturally, at the head of the crowd since they were the first the take the field initially, everyone crouching into various stances to ready themselves to rush out onto the course.

Natsumi's lips pulled back into a frown, crimson gaze peering ahead of her to see a familiar head of dual-colored hair standing calmly near the entrance to the obstacle course. _Knowing him, he's going to start out with a bang and do everything he can to slow down as many people as he can so he can take the lead and remain at the front of the pack for as long as possible._ She reasoned, eyes narrowing, _Not that his ice will have much effect on me but the few seconds it would take me to melt it is time lost. So the best course of action would be to ensure that I don't get caught in his ice to begin with._

Right before the whistle blew to signal the start of the round she turned herself intangible, she could feel the temperature in the tunnel drop as Todoroki made his move. She burst forward past the students who had been frozen to the ground, running right through them. Several people looked up in surprise as she phased through them, leaving them to shudder and feel the prickling sensation of goosebumps forming against their chilled skin.

As she made it onto the field she deactivated her ability, startling several people as she blipped back into existence beside them. She was ahead of the majority of the students, several of them were still chiseling themselves out of Todoroki's icy hold.

Lips downturned into a scowl as she glanced ahead to see several bodies leading the pack—Todoroki was one of them—she needed to figure out a way to get herself out in front. So far, no one had used their Quirks against their classmates but the event Moderators _had_ mentioned that it was every man for himself and they were allowed to use their Quirks as long as they didn't purposefully try to hurt anyone.

Tiny daggers of ice formed at her finger tips, she stared at the figures running ahead of her and with calculated precision let her icy weapons fly. They lodged themselves in the fabric of the students' gym uniform's pant legs before pulling them down to the ground. The three students that she had targeted each let out their own startled cry before they lost their balance and fell forward, glancing back to see the shards of ice anchoring them to the ground.

Natsumi rushed past the fallen trio, lips pulled back into a smirk as they glared back at her as they yanked the ice shards from their pant legs and scrambled to their feet. The ivory-haired teen was already far enough ahead that she didn't have to worry about them catching up to her.

She skidded to a halt, nearly toppling over as dozens of large and intimidating robots loomed over her. The enormous enemies leered down at her with glowing red eyes, sending shivers down her spine.

"It's just like the ones from the entrance exam!" Someone to her left cried.

 _They had to fight these things?!_ She felt an immense relief blanket her as she thanked her lucky star in the sky that the exam she had taken did not include any battles with gargantuan robots.

Deciding that it wasn't in her best interest to waste time by fighting it, she felt a chill settle over her as her body turned intangible, allowing Natsumi to run right through the towering figure. Several students protested her quick escape while the rest figured out ways to get past the obstacle with their unique Quirks. Natsumi was just glad that the damn thing was there to slow the rest of them down for a few more minutes, giving her enough time to create distance between them.

Natsumi flickered back into existence moments later, still in a sprint. She could feel her calves beginning to tire, a stinging pain shooting up her legs while a dull throb pulsed behind her eyes. Sprinting up and down her stairwell had strengthened her endurance but after running for what felt like an eternity—when in truth it was probably only 10 minutes or so—she was beginning to feel the early stages of fatigue begin to grip her.

She stumbled over her own two feet as she came upon a large ravine dividing the field in half, she glanced over the edge, _It's a long way down_. Taking several steps back, Natsumi thrust her palms forward and created a bridge of ice spanning across the entire gorge to allow her safe passage to the other side.

Once she had made it to the other side she whirled around, just as a couple students were about to use her bridge. Palm upturned, Natsumi willed the molecules of the ice bridge to deconstruct as they were no longer useful to her, the bridge disappeared in an instant.

"Sorry, not sorry!" Natsumi called out with a snort as she watched someone nearly fall into the ravine after stepping on the bridge seconds before it disappeared. Shouts of displeasure erupted from the students stuck on the other side of the crevice but their cries fell on deaf ears as the crimson eyed teen used her ice to propel herself forward.

She needed to get this over with quickly, she was tiring quickly and the ache in her chest was slowly becoming a steady burn each time she inhaled. In her mind she desperately hoped that this obstacle course was nearing its end, she was parched and needed a chance to catch her breath for few minutes.

"Out of the way, ice bitch."

She let out a loud groan, crimson eyes glancing over her shoulder as Bakugou caught up to her, a series of explosions propelling him through the air towards her.

"None shall pass!" She lowered her voice, eyes crinkling at the corners from her own joke as she outstretched her hands, palms facing the angry blond, before letting a series of icy spikes soar through the air towards him.

"The fuck!" He growled, bringing his hands out in front of himself to melt the oncoming shards of ice, momentarily stilling him as his propulsion stopped. Natsumi slid onward, lips upturned in a cheeky grin at the ash blond's angry expression and the slew of curses that slipped past his lips. As he began to start forward again, he was bombarded by several daring students from Class 1-B who thought if they could eliminate him as a threat then they'd be guaranteed a position in the next round.

"They won't keep him busy for long." She mused, turned to face forward after watching the fight break out behind her. She had no doubt in her mind that Bakugou would catch up to her quickly after teaching class 1-B a lesson.

Out of her entire class there were only a handful of people who she would consider real threats to her in this competition, though she knew not to count anyone out as they were all strong in their own ways—whether it was brute strength, their Quirk, or in their ability to strategize on the spot. But strength-wise, she knew that Bakugou and Todoroki were major threats. She needed to catch up to—

Ruby eyes landed on the back of familiar tufts of ivory and crimson.

- _Todoroki_.

Her expression hardened at the sight of the very boy who had been leading the pack, she had finally caught up to him. She was _so close_ to first place, Natsumi could practically taste victory. And beating Todoroki after his declaration of war would make her victory all the more sweeter.

He seemed to be stalled in front of the final obstacle, signs that read 'DANGER!' and 'LAND MINES!' warned of the final challenge. From where she stood, she could see the darkened mounds of dirt littering the field ahead of them that signified the placement of the mines. They were everywhere. She wouldn't be able to use her ice to get her across without triggering the mines.

"Heads up!" She warned as she took a running start and leapt at the last moment, placing her palms flush against his shoulders and vaulting clear over his head. She chanced a glance over her shoulder at him as she whizzed through the air, catching sight of his momentarily stunned expression. But it was fleeting and he quickly snapped out of his surprise, heterochromatic eyes narrowed at her challenge.

She landed haphazardously several feet away, swaying on her feet a bit when she realized she had come very close to accidentally stepping on and setting off one of the mines. She let out a relieved breath before zig-zagging through the maze of underground explosives as quickly, and carefully, as she could.

Todoroki was now hot on her tail, a fire alight in his eyes—he refused to lose to her, or _anyone_ for that matter.

Natsumi thrust her right palm backwards and allowed a shower of icy shards to shoot towards the boy who was closing in on her, her attempt at slowing him down. Todoroki's lips pulled back in an annoyed scowl, he brought his left arm out in front of him to deflect her attack. He still refused to use his flames, but he turned up the heat just enough so that the shards of ice melted when they came within inches of his flesh.

She narrowed her eyes, "Neat trick, bet you're fun at parties."

He frowned and gave her a perplexed look, "I don't go to parties."

The girl faltered at his comment but didn't feel the need to respond, he took things too seriously and sometimes had difficulty understanding certain figures of speech—jokes and sarcastic remarks were two major weaknesses of his. He had a very straight forward way of thinking, something she had picked up on quite early in their relationship so with him she would usually take special care to choose the words she strung together quite carefully so there was no room for confusion on his part.

He raced forward, legs pumping impossibly fast as he dodged and weaved around the mines, momentarily Natsumi wondered how he wasn't exhausted yet. But there was no time to be impressed by his stamina, Todoroki reached forward with his left hand, fingers outstretched until they made contact with her elbow. He wrapped his fingers around her tightly, she was stunned by the sheer heat he exerted that she didn't even register that he was yanking her backwards until he let go of her and she watched him take the lead once more.

Natsumi fell back towards the muddy field, panic striking her as she realized he had tossed her at an angle so that she would fall right on one of the buried mines. At the last moment, before her body made contact with the explosive, she activated her intangibility to ensure that her weight didn't trigger the mine.

A growl erupted from deep within her throat as she pulled herself to her feet and took off after him, still keeping her Quirk active so she could dart across the field without worrying about the mines below her to catch up to him. Todoroki was quick, but she noticed that he seemed to be slower than usual. Had he expended too much energy using his ice? It was very possible and she hoped that would be to her advantage.

 _I won't lose to you._

As she neared him Natsumi made sure to steer herself back on the narrow pathway between the mines, watching where her footfalls landed before deactivating her intangibility. As she blinked into existence right behind the dual-color haired boy he scowled back at her.

"I told you, I'm not going to lose." He narrowed his eyes, he stopped running for a moment but there was no time for confusion to sweep over Natsumi as the boy reared back his right fist and punched her square in the abdomen. All of the air immediately left her lungs and she stood there, doubled over and gasping for breath as he turned on his heel and continued on his way.

She wiped the saliva dribbling out of the corner of her mouth with the back of her sleeve, ruby eyes alight with determination. _So that's how it's gonna be, huh?_ She kicked off the ground, a cloud of dust billowing behind her from the action as she found enough energy within herself to dart after him. She was running on pure adrenalin and the will to one-up Todoroki now, despite the exhaustion that was beginning to settle over her aching limbs and the burning in her lungs.

"You don't know when to quit." He mused as she pulled up beside him.

"I'm done giving up, I told you and the rest of the class that I'm not going to back down ever again. I'm in it to win it." Pale pink lips pulled back into a smirk, showing gleaming canines. Quicker than Todoroki could keep up with, she swept her right leg out underneath him, catching him off guard and sending him stumbling forward.

But he caught his balance quickly, shooting her a dirty look before swinging his fist towards her again but this time she was ready and ducked under the wide swing of his arm. She used the moment of distraction to land a kick to the left side of his body, he fell back with a grunt.

"Enjoy second place!" She taunted haughtily, taking the lead right out from under him.

But her victory was short lived as a string of curses and crackling explosives finally caught up to her and Natsumi let out a long, drawn out 'fuuuuuuck' at the appearance of the angry blond.

" _Gotcha_ , _ice bitch_." He sneered, aiming a palm towards her and sending a particularly nasty explosion soaring through the air towards her.

She let out a startled yelp, dropping to the ground unceremoniously with a loud thud to avoid being hit by the fiery attack that had been aimed at her head. Her braided hair hovered in the air before falling flat against her back once gravity kicked back in, she could feel the heat of the blast fly over her and the scent of burnt hair permeated her senses. Bakugou wasn't kidding around, he was as volatile as ever and was coming for that first place spot.

The blond whizzed past her with a triumphant smirk but Todoroki was hot on his tail, Natsumi watched as they exchanged blows, slowing them down in their pursuit for first place as they focused on fighting each other.

She placed her palms flat against the mud beneath her pushing herself up just as another, much louder explosion went off behind her. Perplexed, Natsumi angled her chin over her shoulder to see what could have caused such a large-scale explosion. Her vision was clouded by a tsunami made of dust and debris and on those waves of smoke and mud she could see a blur of green, using the momentum from the blast and a sheet of metal to ride his way towards victory.

"Holy shit, he's fucking brilliant." She breathed, newfound determination welled up inside of her as Midoriya took the lead. Todoroki and Bakugou had stopped their violent dance long enough for her to stand on wobbly legs and run past them in their distraction, chasing after the mossy haired boy. No longer interested in fighting each other, the two boys raced after her.

The end was in sight in the form of a dark tunnel, much like the one they had started the race from. Her muscles ached from over-exertion, her lungs burned with each breath inhaled, and her entire uniform was caked with mud but she was _so_ close. _So fucking close_ to the finish line she couldn't stop now, she needed to use whatever energy she had left to make it through to the other side.

Todoroki and Bakugou were basically at her heels, the latter letting out feral growls and shooting fiery sparks towards her, she could feel the heat from the small blasts caress her back and burn the fabric of her uniform but still she persisted onwards.

The tunnel was dark, but she was finally out of the minefield which meant she could use her Quirk to her advantage again. Though this also meant that the boys were also well aware of this fact, she heard the explosions start up behind her and the chill in the air from Todoroki's ice forming beneath his feet.

She used her own ice, sliding towards the bright light at the end of the tunnel and just as she was about to cross out onto the field and into the sunlight…Bakugou passed her. The scent of cinnamon and smoke enveloping her senses as he took second place in the obstacle race.

She was next to cross the finish line, her ice abruptly stopped and she stumbled forward from the momentum before falling to her knees from the deafening sound of the entire stadium cheering. Realistically she knew that they weren't cheering for her but for the fact that the first event was over now that people were starting to cross the finish line.

But in her head, she imagined that the cheering was all for her, that the masses were proud and exuberant over the fact that she had made it, against all odds.

Natsumi held her hand over her chest, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat and slow down her breathing, the corners of her eyes prickled with moisture that she refused to shed. She couldn't believe—

"I made it." The words ghosted over her lips, barely above a whisper, and yet, as Todoroki stepped past her, he cast a glance in her direction.

"Congrats." Her eyes snapped up at him and she couldn't tell if he was truthfully congratulating her or if that had been a snide comment meant to disparage her victory.

She narrowed her eyes at him, unable to read his stoic expression as he stared forward at the screen high above the stadium that listed everyone's name in order of the position they finished in.

 _Midoriya Izuku_

 _Bakugou Katsuki_

 _Kurosawa Natsumi_

 _Todoroki Shouto_

The list continued as more and more first years burst through the tunnel, but all Natsumi could focus on was her name… _listed right above_ Todoroki's. Her lips twitched at the corners before pulling back into a pleased smirk. She wasn't in first place like she had been gunning for but…

 _Maybe that'll knock him back a peg_. At the moment all she cared about was competing against the dual-color haired boy, his comments from the waiting room earlier had rubbed her the wrong way and she made it her personal mission to kick him right off the pedestal he had put himself on.

* * *

This took MUCH longer than I anticipated and I'm so sorry for that! I feel like some chapters are easier to write than others are and for some reason the middle of this one just gave me so much grief, I just couldn't decide what I wanted to write haha.

ALSO! I do want to let you know if you're curious about what Natsumi looks like I have 4 pictures of her uploaded on my Instagram (username: **Rynxenvy** ), one of them is sort of a character ref sheet and has her in her new hero costume that I haven't debuted yet. If anyone ever wants to draw her or any scenes from the story I would seriously be eternally grateful and love you forever :P

I'm hoping the next chapter won't take as long as this one did to churn out, but I can't make any promises. They next couple of weeks are going to be pretty busy for me. I will be attending/working at Rhode Island Comic-Con in a couple weeks and then the week after taking time off to go to a concert in CT so I might not have much time to write. But seriously I'm so grateful to everyone who favorited and followed and reviewed the story last chapter!

Every single review I received made me smile and just…made my day when I read them. There's nothing better than waking up to reading something nice that someone wrote about your story, and often times I was having a bad day when I received one of your reviews and that alone was enough to turn my entire day around. So, thank you so much guys. I really appreciate all the kind words you have had to say!


	11. Chapter 11

As the remainder of the first years emerged from the tunnel and out onto the field minutes later, Natsumi found herself swelling with immense pride when she realized that her entire class had made it. With her chin angled over her shoulder, she watched as each student burst out into the sunlight, shielding their eyes momentarily before joining their friends with eager anticipation for the next event.

Crimson eyes locked on to tired lilac and she found herself grinning despite herself, he dipped his chin and smirked back at her as if to say—

 _Told you I'd make it._

 _I knew you would._ She offered him a thumbs up.

Turning her attention back to the front of the arena where Midnight was readying herself to reveal the next event. Natsumi continued to stay in her position, knees against the earth beneath her, just taking in the expressions of everyone and the excited chatter that sprung to life around her.

She felt the thudding against her ribcage slowly return to a normal beat per minute range as the adrenaline slowly fizzled out and her breathing returned to normal. A hand appeared in her line of vision, her gaze trailed up the arm and landed on the smiling face of Ochako, her chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath. The brunette was starting to calm down herself, her breathing still a little ragged from the exertion, but her smile was bright and exuberant as she stared down at the ivory-haired teen still sitting in the dirt.

"How did you even get so filthy?" The brunette giggled, staring at the mud staining the smaller teen's uniform and caked to her arms.

Natsumi placed her palm in Ochako's waiting one, allowing the other girl to help her to her feet, "Well, I'm going to have to blame Bakugou for that."

A light gasp escaped the bubbly brunette's lips, "Oh? Did he push you down?" She puffed up angrily, "Do I need to knock some sense into him?"

Her eyes moved on their own accord, scanning over the crowd of students gathered around the stage in front of her before landing on a familiar head of spiked ash blond locks. She snorted at the thought of Ochako beating the boy senseless, it was too comical to imagine.

"N-no, haha, that's fine. He'll get his." Lips quirked into an amused grin, "I'll be sure to take him out next round, just you wait."

The brunette nodded eagerly, beaming at the ivory haired teen with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Oh, I'll be sure to get in a few good hits too when I can."

The crimson eyed teen elbowed the brunette in the side teasingly, "You would risk getting blown up by our resident hothead just to defend my honor? Ochako-chan, I'm touched."

Ochako puffed out her cheeks and pounded her fist against her palm in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, "I got your back, Natsu-chan."

Natsumi couldn't help the wide grin that stretched her lips back so far that her cheeks began to feel sore from the motion. She had never felt so grateful in her life than when she was given the opportunity to attend the famed hero academy but she was finding that the feeling was around all the time now. Every time she looked to her classmates, every time they spoke words of encouragement, she felt the emotion lingering around her, creating a warmth that clung to her. She hoped that it would never dissipate.

Without another word spoken between the two of them, the girls turned their attention to the front of the arena just as the last obstacle race participant crossed the finish line. Midnight cracked her whip, eager to announce the next event.

"The first forty-two students to finish the obstacle race will advance to the next round which will serve to cut back your numbers pretty drastically—so be sure to bring you're A-Game!" At her announcement there were worried mutters from the students gathered around the stage, all wondering just how drastically their numbers would be reduced by this next round.

Midnight smirked as she took in the anxious faces standing before her, she was happy to have gotten the gears in their heads turning, they would need to strategize and work together as a team to make it through the next event.

"Our next event is Capture the Flag!" She announced before pointing her whip at the scoreboard behind her, big and bright, "Here's how this is going to work. Everyone's names are listed in the order that they completed the obstacle course, pay close attention to the rankings because they're going to correspond with the amount of points you're going to go into the next round with. I'll come back to that later, however."

Confused chatter rose up between the remaining first years, all wondering the same thing; what were the points needed for?

"You're going to form teams of two to four people for this next event and you will have two jobs; knock the opposing teams out of the ring while simultaneously gunning for their flags that symbolize their group's worth." Midnight explained, "This is where the points come in. Each person will have their own flag that is worth a certain number of points, the goal here is for your team to accrue as many points as you possibly can in the short amount of time you have. But keep in mind that the other teams are going to be trying to steal your points away all the while working to push you out of bounds. By the end of this round there will only be four teams left standing—or sixteen people."

"Only four!?" Sero grimaced, almost seeming a bit panicked as his eyes swept over the forty-two students standing around him, all of them seeming to have the same thoughts as he did.

"That means more than half of us will be cut after this round." Ashido groaned, a thin sheen of sweat beginning to form on her brow.

Ochako breathed in sharply, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed in determination, "Kayama-sensei wasn't kidding when she told us to bring our A-Game." She nodded to herself before grinning brightly at her classmates, "Well, we'll just have to do just that then! Do your best everyone!"

"I'm all fired up!" Kirishima's lips pulled back into an over-excited grin as he clenched his fists in eager anticipation.

"I'll go over the point system now as that is an important part of this event, the more points you have the stronger your chance of making it into the next round is—though keep in mind that also makes you more of a target to your peers as well. Points are given based on the position you finished in during the obstacle race, so for example—the person who came in forty-second place will have five points, the person in forty-first place will have ten points, each rank gaining an additional five points the closer they are to first place." Midnight paused for a moment, chuckling as she watched every student before her take on the same, contemplative stare as they began to do the math in their heads to determine the amount of points they'd be awarded. Her lips curled into a mischievous smirk, "Now, here's a little twist to the points system—the person in first place will be starting with ten million."

 _What?!_ Natsumi's eyes snapped to the mossy haired boy standing several feet away, in that moment he choked out a startled gasp, eyes wide as he garnered the attention of every single first year. He shrunk back under the penetrating stares of his peers, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he began to stutter something unintelligible while holding his hands up in front of his chest.

 _Poor kid's got a giant bullseye on his back now._

Natsumi's lips twitched into a small, sympathetic frown as she watched Midoriya display the tell-tale signs of a panic attack, she knew the feeling very well. She felt a strong urge to reach out to him, reassure him that everything would turn out okay, but she pulled back unable to move from her spot beside Ochako.

The score board behind Midnight buzzed to life, now displaying the amount of points that each individual student was awarded—Midoriya's name at the very top of the list with his ten million. Crimson eyes landed on her name at third place, a pleased hum escaped her as she regarded the _200_ displayed next to her name.

"You're free to use your Quirks as you see fit. You have fifteen minutes to form your groups and strategize."

The score board flickered briefly before displaying a timer counting down from fifteen minutes. Suddenly everyone jumped into action and began to frantically dart around the field, deciding on who to form a group with. It seemed as if the majority of the students played it safe and formed groups with their friends, it didn't take long for Natsumi to notice that Midoriya was being avoided as if he had the plague.

She didn't blame everyone for steering clear of him though, every team would be aiming to take him out first to claim his points flag. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself either, which was why when Midoriya's eyes met her's she offered an apologetic smile and turned away.

"Hey, be on my team."

Lilac eyes narrowed ever so slightly in suspicion, lips downturned, "You don't even know what my Quirk is."

The ivory haired teen hummed in contemplation, "Well, what's your Quirk then?"

Silence passed between the two for several minutes while Shinsou regarded her, as if he were trying to figure out what her true intentions were. Natsumi held his stare, offering him a lopsided grin.

"Don't hurt yourself." She teased.

The joke did nothing to smooth the creases between his brows, he was distrusting, she realized. A pang of sadness jolted through her core at the conclusion that he must have been hurt in the past—

 _The slight quirk of his lips let her know that he was amused by her words, "Calm down, I know what it's like to be seen as the bad guy. I'm not here to judge. Just here to say that if someone like you can make it into the Hero Course then I'll have no problem getting in after the Sports Festival."_

She recalled their first conversation, which felt like a millennia ago despite the fact it had only been a week, and again she found herself wondering just how similar their pasts may have been. Natsumi had always felt like some sort of pariah to society, given her lineage and what she had been trained to do, that was a dark, gut-wrenching feeling that she wouldn't wish on anyone. When crimson met lilac she suddenly felt like he understood, in some way he knew what it meant to be an outcast.

" _Hey, I get it. People like us have to work harder for what we want."_

"You should know," She began quietly, when he glanced back up at her she found that she was able to piece her thoughts together more clearly, "that I'm that last person you should ever have to worry about being judgmental. If your Quirk is a little unconventional or out there then that's no big deal, we'll figure something out and push forward. I told you that I'm here to prove myself to everyone who has ever doubted me and I thought that's what you had come to do as well."

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting her words sink in. Shinsou had been bullied and teased ever since his Quirk had manifested. He had been called a villain and ostracized, unable to make any friends because of their fear that he would use his Quirk on them. No one had ever taken the time to get to know him. He wanted to be a Hero but he had been told time and time again that the only thing his Quirk was suited for was being a villain. From then on, he had learned that it's best to keep his mouth shut—no use in broadcasting his Quirk or life goal's to an uncaring world.

Finally, after a moment of silence, he opened his eyes with a newfound sense of determination. His lips pulled back into a smirk, "You're very persuasive, aren't you?"

A lazy grin tugged at the corners of her mouth, "I know how to get what I want."

A soft chuckle left him at her comment, "I can see that. Alright, Miss Hero, you wanted to know what my Quirk was…"

She leaned in closer, eager to hear what he had been so hesitant to divulge earlier.

"It's called Brainwash, I can control the actions of anyone who responds back to something I've said to them." He watched her expression closely, waiting for her to reel back in fear or disgust, _just like everyone else._

Natsumi placed a delicate finger to her chin in thought before snapping her fingers and grinning, "Okay, that's perfect! You'll be in charge of keeping the other teams off our tail, when someone starts zeroing in on us, you'll just use your Quirk and make them go attack someone else for the rest of the time."

A small frown marred his face, confusion settling, "You still want me on your team even after knowing what my Quirk is?"

She nodded slowly, as if what he had just said was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard, "Well, why wouldn't I? That's a pretty amazing Quirk if you ask me. You'll be able to just make the villains turn themselves in, or spill their guts about who they're working for and their goals, think of how efficient that'll be out in the field!"

Now it was his turn to stare at her, an incredulous look plastered on his face as he took in what she had just said. No one had ever told him that he could actually be a Hero and do good with his Quirk…

"You really are something else, huh?" He sighed, though there was an amused quirk of his lips that wasn't lost on her, "Alright, so who else do we want on our team?"

"Oh, right." She turned around to survey the area, seeing that most of the students had already grouped up. Though Midnight had mentioned that their groups _could_ be just two people, Natsumi knew that there was safety in numbers and they'd have a better chance with a larger team, especially with players like Bakugou and Todoroki out for blood.

"I gotta say, I'm surprised you didn't play it safe and choose your own classmates first."

"To be honest, I thought it'd kinda be a big middle finger to everyone who ever called us 'villains' when we win." She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, her attention suddenly focused on a girl from 1-B who had her hands clasped together and a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Her? Do you even know her?" Shinsou asked skeptically.

"Did I know you?" She shot back without so much as a glance back to him as she sauntered forward towards the girl. Truth was, Natsumi had never formally introduced herself to the girl but had seen her around and was vaguely aware of what her Quirk was.

This round wasn't just about winning to her, it was also to prove to herself that she could work well with others, something that she admittedly had some trouble with. She was testing herself. She knew how her classmates Quirks worked and was fairly confident in her ability to fight alongside them. Natsumi wanted people who she didn't know as well to challenge herself…and make her victory all the more sweeter.

"I don't think we've ever actually met, I'm Kurosawa Natsumi." She held out her hand cordially to the girl who had seemed a little surprised by her sudden appearance

Luscious locks of green thorny vines swayed against her back as she leaned forward to place a delicate hand in Natsumi's waiting one, offering a congenial smile, "Shiozaki Ibara, it's nice to finally meet you Kurosawa-san."

"Yeah, you too." She reclaimed her hand with a bright smile, "I came over here to see if you'd like to join our team."

To say that the earthy girl was shocked by that offer would have been an understatement, she tilted her head curiously as she considered the invitation to join Natsumi's team. She was quiet for a moment, almost hesitant, before the corners of her lips tugged into a shy smile, "I would be delighted to join you, Kurosawa-san."

The ivory haired teen grinned, "Perfect! Now we just need to find a—" Before she could finish her thought, she turned around to see Shinsou with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his trousers, another student standing next to him.

"Found our fourth." The lilac eyed boy smirked, interrupting Natsumi's train of thought.

The boy was another student from 1-B, who Shiozaki greeted pleasantly. His name was Rin Hiryu, his skin was lightly tanned, dark eyes crinkled at the corners as he offered his classmate a smile. He kept his dark hair braided, neatly pulled away from his face.

A quick glance over her shoulder at the timer counting down behind her confirmed that they only had a few more minutes to strategize.

Natsumi hummed in thought, staring out at her group, "Alright, I know the basic gist of everyone's Quirks with the exception of you Rin-san. What are you able to do?"

The boy in question smiled a bit sheepishly, before holding out his arm, "I can produce scales that cover my body like armor—" He demonstrated by producing shiny, iridescent green scales along the length of his arm, "—and I can also shoot the scales like projectiles, which I won't demonstrate right now because I don't want to accidentally hit anyone but you get the picture."

Natsumi nodded her head, her lips slowly forming an eager grin, "Alright, cool. So, what I'm hearing is that we are totally going to kick some ass with the combined efforts of our awesome Quirks."

Shinsou offered her a small smirk, Shiozaki smiled meekly, and Rin's lips twitched into an almost embarrassed grin. Natsumi faltered a little at their lack of excitement, she'd have to work harder to get them fired up.

"Okay, I think our biggest threats are going to be Bakugou and Todoroki's teams, they're the heavy hitters here—"

"—Don't count class 1-B out." Rin interjected.

"—I'm not. We have to be on guard the entire time but what I'm saying is that Bakugou and Todoroki are the two, from my class at least, that I'm most worried about. Bakugou is brazen and will be all fired up and out to kill."

"You mean figuratively, right?" Shiozaki tilted her head.

"Haha, we can only hope. Just don't get caught in his line of fire and you should be fine." Natsumi answered with a nervous laugh. The ash blond was volatile but she was _pretty sure_ that he wouldn't actually kill anyone to get to the top of the scoreboard.

"We will want to focus on defense, maybe not worry so much about pushing the other teams out of bounds, but collecting as many points as we can." Shinsou spoke up, removing his hands from his pockets and crossing them over his chest.

The ivory haired teen bobbed her head in agreement, "That's probably the best way to go, if any of the more unruly combatants come after us then Shinsou-kun will use his Quirk on them to get them off our backs."

"Alright, time is up! Is everyone ready?" Midnight leaned forward eagerly, "Whether you are or not doesn't matter because—ROUND START!"

There was a sudden panic as teams scrambled together to give each other one last pep talk before it was an all-out war—punches were thrown and Quirks were out in full force.

" _Ojiro Mashirao has been knocked out of bounds by Bakugou Katsuki!"_

Natsumi tuned out the voice of Present Mic as she concentrated on the clash happening on the field before her, reflexively she moved closer to her teammates, almost in a protective stance. It was her goal for all four of them to make it to the next round. She knew that, at heart, she was a selfish person so if she could keep the other three safe until the next event then she would consider herself successful.

 _I'm coming up with all sorts of fun challenges for myself today,_ She snorted at the thought.

Suddenly she felt a pressure wrap around her abdomen and pull her to the side of the arena, her eyes snapped back to meet Shiozaki, who had used her vines to remove Natsumi from being pummeled by the enlarged fist of Kendo Itsuka.

"That was a close one, thanks Shiozaki-san."

"No problem," The teen with thorny vines growing from her scalp smiled, "We're a team so we have to look out for each other, right?"

"Absolutely! Sorry, I was zoning out." Natsumi laughed sheepishly before turning her attention to the girl who had tried to attack her, she had seen her around campus and had had several very brief conversations with her in the past. She was a friendly girl who had taken on the role of keeping Monoma Neito, a boy from 1-B who had a personal vendetta against the entirety of class 1-A, out of trouble. A very noble act, indeed, considering Monoma enjoyed seeking out her class to taunt and start fights with.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right? I just really want your points." Kendo grinned, her enlarged fist shooting out towards Natsumi again but this time the ivory haired teen was ready.

Natsumi turned herself intangible right as the fist was about to strike her, her arms reached forward and grasped Kendo's fist. The girl from 1-B was confused, startled even, when she felt a pressure on her fist but her opponent was nowhere to be seen and then…she felt cold. Immense, uncomfortable chills ran up her spine and her frantic gaze landed on the tips of her fingers that had begun to turn blue as a frost slowly encased her fist.

"W-what—" Kendo stuttered as she retracted her fist right as Natsumi reappeared beside her, lips painted with a triumphant smirk as she dangled a white headband tauntingly in front of the orange haired teen.

Kendo was bewildered for a moment before her eyes wandered down to where her own points had been resting around her neck moments before only…they were no longer there! Her attention shot back to Natsumi who had tied the band around her neck, "How? I didn't even notice-!"

"I'm like a ghost." Natsumi bit back a grin, using the back of her hand to wipe off a smudge of mud that had been caked on her cheek from the previous event.

Right as Kendo regained her senses and moved to fight back to reclaim her points, Shiozaki entered the fray with a flurry of dancing thorn covered vines, wrapping them around her classmate and very roughly throwing the other girl out of bounds.

" _Kendo Itsuka has been thrown, violently I might add, out of bounds by Shiozaki Ibara!"_

"I'm glad you're on my side." Natsumi laughed, her fingers subconsciously gliding over the two white flags tied around her neck. _This is a good start…but we need more if we want to guarantee our spot in the next round._

"Heads up, ice bitch!" Bakugou sneered, explosions propelling him towards her so quickly that she didn't have time to think before ducking under his outstretched hand at the last moment and whirling around to face his back. He had been gunning for her points but she knew that he would've wanted to remove her from the competition all the same and wouldn't have held back.

"Fucking stand still and give me your shitty points." He growled, spinning on his heel to face her.

"That's no way to speak to a lady." Shinsou sauntered towards them, sidling up beside his teammate with a lazy quirk of his eyebrow.

"The fuck di—" Bakugou's eyes glazed over and the creases between his brows smoothed out, he looked almost at peace. _Almost_. Natsumi shot the lilac eyed boy an amazed look; that was the first time she had seen his Quirk in action.

"You're going to turn around and leave our team alone, go be obnoxious and immature elsewhere." Shinsou spoke quietly but loud enough for the dazed blond to hear in his brainwashed state before flying off to attack Todoroki's team instead.

Natsumi let out a low whistle at the retreating back of Bakugou, "Wow, that's some Quirk you've got there. I don't think I've ever seen something shut him up that quickly. I _need_ you to transfer to 1-A immediately."

He rolled his eyes, but the corners of his lips tipped into a small amused smile at her comment, "I'm working on it."

"Hey guys, look what I got!" Rin jogged over to the two, lifting his green scaled arm to show the white flag dangling from between his fingers, "That little purple guy over there started crying when I activated my Quirk and practically just handed over his points." The tan skinned boy shrugged, letting out a chuckle as he tied the band around his neck, "I wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth—free points are free points."

A quick glance in the direction that Rin had indicated confirmed that it was, indeed, Mineta who had surrendered his points to get out of having to fight someone much more skilled than he was.

"Good job, Rin-san." Shiozaki smiled appreciatively.

"Ah, maybe we shouldn't stand here for too long." Natsumi piped up, they had only been there for a few short seconds in all reality, but it felt like much longer with the various battles raging around them. A stagnant group was an easy target.

"You're ri—" Shinsou was cut off by a blur of green slamming into his side, knocking him off his feet and skidding against the stadium floor.

"Shins—ow!" Natsumi let out a startled screech as two fists came into her peripheral, she was able to duck both of them but then a third pulled back and collided with her abdomen, sending her flying backwards.

She used her ice to slow her body from skidding across the arena, letting out a groan of pain as she rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself back to her feet to see who her assailant had been.

"Shoji-kun, I should've known it was you when the fists just kept coming." She wheezed, attempting to will the oxygen that had left her lungs during the attack to flow back into her.

"No hard feelings, kero." Tsuyu croaked, her tongue firmly wrapped around Shinsou's abdomen, keeping his hands tightly by his sides. Her fingers tugged at the band of points tied around the lilac haired boy's forehead but before she could rip it away from him a bullet storm of sharp, iridescent scales shot at her. Tsuyu recoiled in shock and confusion, wide eyes turning to land on Rin who had his arm covered in a shield of scales.

"I think you forgot that there's four of us and only two of you." The tan skinned boy grinned, preparing himself for another attack on the frog-like teen.

"We don't need the numbers. We've got brains _and_ brawn." Shoji retorted, swinging double fists towards Natsumi but this time she was quick to dodge, despite the ache in her ribs.

Vines shot out of Shiozaki's scalp and rushed towards the boy with dupli-arms, the green tendrils wrapped tightly around his wrists, preventing him from initiating another attack on his silver haired classmate.

"That sounds like an insult, Shoji-kun, I'm surprised and _hurt_." Natsumi placed a hand over her erratically beating heart, sending him a look of feigned hurt.

His eyes softened just a bit to let her know that he was sorry for what he had said, but he remained focused on the girl holding his arms tightly within her vines. He flexed his muscles, straining against his bindings before bringing his arms together and swinging violently to the left. The force from his movement sent Shiozaki tumbling to the side, vines still wrapped around her enemy's arms.

"Shiozaki-san, release him!" Natsumi called out, her palms facing forward towards her classmate as the earthy girl relinquished her vine-y hold on the dupli-armed boy. As soon as he was free his gaze shot to his crimson eyed classmate, but before he had time to process what was happening ice was quickly sneaking up his legs, covering his torso, and freezing his arms in place. He was completely encased.

Natsumi knew that his strength was immense and he could easily break through his icy prison, for good measure she fortified her ice with extra layers to keep him in place. Bouncing on the balls of her feet she flitted over to him, jumping high so that she was level with his shoulder she grasped the thin material of his bandana, yanking it off triumphantly.

"Thanks for the points!" She shot him a cheeky grin.

Shoji rolled his eyes, struggling against the ice encasing his body, already starting to feel his extremities starting to go numb.

"Don't worry, I'll remove the ice before you get frost bite." She laughed.

Rin raised his arms threateningly, eyeing the frog-like girl who was still restraining the lilac haired boy, though she had stopped in her advances to steal his points and was now nursing the cuts on her hands.

Shinsou let out a sigh, tired eyes sliding to meet the wide, dark irises of his captor, "This is pretty unsanitary, why don't you just let me go."

Tsuyu tilted her head, "Why would—"

She froze.

Shinsou smirked, _got her_.

"Hand over your points and walk yourself out of bounds."

Natsumi quickly interjected, "Not everyone knows what your Quirk is yet and that's kind of our trump card here. So, if she just walks out of bounds they're gonna know something's up. Make it look a little more convincing than that."

Shinsou shrugged his shoulders and glanced back at the dazed girl in front of him, "You heard her. Release me. And then you're going to allow me to push you out of bounds."

Her tongue retracted and shot back into her wide mouth with a gross sounding 'slurp' before she hopped backwards, crouching into a defensive position as Shinsou stalked forwards. He wasn't much of a fighter, but he was a decent actor and could put on a show to divert the suspicion away from him for a short while. He knew that sooner or later the metaphorical cat would be let out of the bag, but he did agree with Natsumi that the longer they kept everyone in the dark about his Quirk the better his odds at advancing were.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he dodged a slow, poorly executed attack by Tsuyu's whip-like tongue. He knew that under normal circumstances that her attacks would've been much quicker and much more difficult to avoid but with her being under his command they were sloppy and easily avoidable.

He darted forward, sweeping his leg low and catching the brainwashed frog-like teen off guard. As she fell backwards, he quickly stood back up and jutted out his foot, kicking her across the white painted line that signified where the boundary was, he clumsily grabbed her points banner in the process.

"Good job, Shinsou-kun!" Natsumi grinned at him.

"What just happened, kero?" Tsuyu snapped out of her brainwashed state rather quickly but then the confusion set in as she realized she was no longer in the event. Her wide eyes shot up to meet Shinsou's.

"He knocked ya out fair and square." The crimson eyed girl shrugged, suddenly her eyes widened, "Oh shit, Shoji-kun!" She whirled on her heels and darted back over to where she had left her classmate half frozen on the field. She pulled the water molecules from his icy prison, watching as it quickly disappeared and he collapsed to the ground. Skin on the verge of turning purple and shivers wracking his muscular body.

"I'm so sorry, you should…ah, you should probably go see Recovery Girl." Natsumi bit her lip sheepishly.

Shoji attempted to stand, his legs wobbled and he fell back down. His limbs numb.

" _Shoji Mezo is unable to continue!"_

In a flurry of movements, several Pro Heroes rushed the stage and helped Shoji to his feet, walking him out of the arena and presumably to receive treatment for his mild frostbite. Natsumi ran a hand through her sweat soaked bangs, waving guiltily to Shoji as he was ushered backstage.

"You just gave your classmate frost bite; how does that make you feel?" Shinsou smirked from beside her.

Natsumi shot him a feigned scathing look before shrugging, "All's fair in love and war."

"That's cold." He chuckled.

She was about to respond when a head of ivory and crimson caught her attention from her peripheries. Ruby eyes narrowed at the boy who was targeting a student from 1-B, not even sparing her a glance in his advances for more points. But just the mere sight of him was enough to send her on edge, all of the feelings of anger, betrayal, and sadness from the waiting room earlier crashed into her like a tidal wave.

Her lips pulled back into a scowl.

Shinsou eyed her for a moment, noticing her sudden change in disposition and followed her gaze to the boy in question, "Everything alright?"

Natsumi didn't bother to answer him, instead she was off, skating against a sheet of ice down the field towards her intended prey. She would make him see, make him regret the words he spoke to her—well, to the _class_ , but they may as well have been directed at her. They had felt personal.

Todoroki had just finished incapacitating Monoma and stealing his points when he felt something collide with his side, sending him veering to the side. He would've fallen completely to the ground if he hadn't thought quickly enough to create a bed of ice to catch him.

Heterochromatic eyes widened by a barely noticeable fraction when his gaze landed on Natsumi's tiny form next to him. After her tackle had failed she decided that she'd go a different route with her attacks, he was great at using his Quirk from a distance—so her plan was to keep him busy enough to where he was unable to use his Quirk. Not that his ice would have much effect against her but if he decided to use the other half of his abilities…

She shook her head. He wouldn't use it.

He looked like he was about to say something to her, Todoroki parted his lips and made to take a step forward, but Natsumi was too quick. She dashed forward with her rime coated fist drawn back, eyes narrowed in a fierce glare.

Todoroki furrowed his brows, leaping out of the way of her attack right as her fist whizzed past his ear, he could practically hear the displacement of air from how close she had come to hitting him. She let out a feral growl and he crouched low to sweep his leg out in an attempt to knock her on her ass but she jumped over it as if she were playing jump rope.

She performed a spinning kick to his abdomen as he was straightening up from his previous attack, stumbling back a couple of steps and letting out a startled gasp as her foot made contact with his sternum.

Sweat beaded against his forehead, his own irritation towards the crimson eyed girl was quickly reaching its limits. He was frustrated that she had come for him in the first place, he had made a point to not acknowledge her presence during the event by going after the other teams. She had chosen to partner with three nobodies from various other classes, in his eyes that was a foolish decision—did she not care about winning? If that was the case then he'd remove her from the competition, he was aiming for the top and wouldn't tolerate anyone getting in the way, not even Natsumi.

The boy clenched his fists and stomped his foot against the ground, a surge of icy spikes shot out towards her, but she remained rooted to her spot. The corners of her lips stretching into a smirk, she held out her hand as if reaching for him before clenching her fist. In a matter of seconds, the ice racing towards her shattered and then dissipated completely into a frozen mist that blew across the arena.

"Did you honestly think that an _ice_ attack would work against _me_?" She taunted, laughing as she spoke, hands firmly planted on her hips as she stared him down in a condescending manner.

Shouto grit his teeth. Logically, he knew that his ice would have no effect against her, she had the ability to dismantle his attacks with a simple flick of her wrist. The only chance he had at landing a hit to her with his Quirk would be to use…

 _No. I won't._ He growled an internal reminder to himself, there was no way he would give his father, who was undoubtedly watching from the stands, the satisfaction of using his flames. _Maybe I can tire her out with my ice or hand to hand…_

He snapped out of his thoughts just in time as she aimed a rime coated fist at his face, but he was quick enough to duck beneath her arm and jut his leg out, kicking her in the back and sending her sprawling forwards.

"Cheap shot."

He smirked, "Still took you down."

A scoff passed over her pale, chapped lips, "Not for long."

She shot back to her feet, her ivory braid whipping against her cheek from the movement, she was breathing heavily from the exertion of their fight but was ready to continue despite the fatigue beginning to settle over her.

One eyebrow rose high above the other as Todoroki regarded her, "Maybe you should quit while you're ahead, Kurosawa."

"Fuck off, Todoroki." She spat, sending a wave of ice hurtling towards him. He seemed to have the same idea as her, stomping his foot against the ground and sending his own frozen wall surging towards her. The two attacks met in the middle, crashing and causing a loud clatter that disrupted all battles on the field for a moment as all participants whipped their heads around to see what had caused such a commotion.

The vulgarity of her statement, coupled with how sharp and cold her tone was directed at him stirred something within him that he wasn't accustomed to feeling. It was a brief, fleeting feeling that left an icy grip on his heart. He quickly shook it off, narrowing his eyes and refocusing his attention on the fight at hand.

Right as the two walls of ice collided with each other, Natsumi took her chance. As the icy mist and frozen shards began to settle around them from the impact she raced forward and phased right through to the other side. Todoroki knew that he shouldn't have been surprised, but in the heat of the moment he had forgotten that she had a second ability.

Natsumi pulled her fist back and it collided with the boy's right cheek, sending him stumbling back from the force but not quite enough to cause him to completely lose his balance. Fortunately for him, physical strength wasn't what she excelled in.

"I don't know what spurred this fight to begin with—"

"—Oh? You don't know? Then you're not as smart as I thought you were." She snapped back, now standing a couple yards away from him to catch her breath.

He rose a curious eyebrow, tilting his head slightly to urge her to continue, completely ignoring the insult that she had thrown in.

"Your little speech in the waiting room. When you made your declaration of war and told us that you weren't here to make friends." Natsumi clenched her fists at her side, hating the fact that she had to spell it all out for him. It was _embarrassing_ admitting that what he had said had gotten to her.

 _Oh. Is that what this is all about?_ Todoroki frowned, regarding her with cautious heterochromatic eyes. She was a loose cannon when angered and all fired up, though her attacks seemed unpredictable they were messy and unrefined the more riled up she became. She became almost feral in her form and way of attacking and when that happened it was easy to see how she was raised by two villains. Todoroki shook his head, feathery locks of ivory and crimson brushing just above his eyes as he did so. _She's not a villain._ He refused to think of her in that way and felt almost guilty that the thought had even crossed his mind in the first place.

"I'm here to win. Nothing else matters to me other than attaining my goal." He spoke evenly, eyes never leaving her small frame.

"That's selfish as fuck and you know it." She growled, running a hand through her shaggy, sweat-drenched bangs.

Maybe it was selfish for him to turn his back on his classmates after the kindness they had all shown him over the last couple of weeks, but he couldn't allow meaningless friendships to distract him from his ultimate goal. He would surpass All Might and, subsequently, his _father_.

"I have my reasons." The bi-color haired boy shrugged his shoulders. Did he feel guilty about leading her on and letting her think that they were friends? Maybe he did, maybe some part of him deep down had also enjoyed their quiet time spent together. But he was determined in his resolve, she was the biggest distraction of them all and he was trying his absolute hardest to not let her get to him.

The silver haired teen was about to respond when her eyes went wide as she watched a blur of red shoot past her and towards her teammates that she had left behind, a hardened fist reeled back before striking an unsuspecting Rin in the abdomen. The tan skinned boy doubled over, sputtering in surprise and from the air being knocked right out of him. He stared up at the culprit, bright and determined crimson stared back at him.

"Sorry dude, nothing personal." Kirishima apologized with a friendly grin despite the fact that he continued to pummel Rin with punch after punch, not giving the dark eyed boy any time to react or defend himself.

She cast one last glance at Todoroki before darting off to help Rin. Todoroki relaxed now that she was gone and no longer a threat, his gaze lingered on her retreating form for an extra minute before he whipped his head in the direction of his own teammates, running to return to them and to try and grab a few more points before the end of the match.

Natsumi thrust her hand forward, shards of ice shooting towards the red-head in an attempt to distract him from attacking her teammate. Kirishima held up his hardened arm and deflected the icy projectiles, his attention turning back to Rin who had activated his Quirk to try and protect himself.

Kirishima landed another punch, Rin brought his arms up in a defensive position but as his opponent's fist collided with his forearm the scales protecting him shattered under the pressure. Kirishima's Quirk was much stronger. Rin let out a pained gasp and stumbled backwards as the other boy reeled back his fist and sent the dark eyed teen from 1-B flying out of the arena.

"Gotcha!" The crimson eyed boy held up the white flag he had snatched last minute from Rin triumphantly in his fist.

"Hey! Those points belong to my team!" Natsumi growled, eyes narrowed. She was furious that her classmate had knocked out one of her teammates after she had vowed to get all four of them to the next round.

Kirishima offered her an apologetic, lopsided grin, "Ah, sorry Natsu-chan, but these are mine now."

She lowered herself into an offensive position and rushed forward, her movements almost a blur. Kirishima was unable to follow her movements but prepared himself for her attack by hardening his entire body as a first line of defense against whatever she had up her sleeve.

He had never fought her before but knew that she had agility and the strength of her ice on her side, though knew that actual brute strength was something she lacked. She was tiny, but she was fierce and a force to be reckoned with, especially with that attitude of hers.

She reappeared in the air in front of him, a blade of ice clutched in her grip as she swung the icy weapon down against his arm. The ice splintered but didn't shatter completely from the impact of it striking against Kirishima's hardened forearm. A feral growl escaped her parted lips and she quickly jumped back, refortifying her sword with more ice before swing towards his abdomen with it.

The redhead jumped back to avoid the blow, "Oh man, good thing for my hardening otherwise you would've totally taken my arm off with that thing."

"You don't need it."

He quirked a brow and sputtered out a quick response, "My arm? I beg to differ, I rather like having two of them."

Her lips pulled back into a sneer, her anger getting the better of her at this point, especially after her run-in with Todoroki moments ago. She couldn't believe that he had taken out one of her teammates—even though he was her classmate and one of the nicest guys that she had ever met…she needed to teach him a lesson for ruining her plans. Surely, he'd understand after all of this was said and done but for the time being she was living in the heat of the moment.

Natsumi disappeared in a blur of speed once more, this time reappearing above him, her palms roughly latching onto his shoulders as she vaulted over him. At the last moment she kicked out both legs into his back, promptly knocking him off balance and stumbling forward. He was strong, however, and was able to correct his balance.

Kirishima whirled around to face her, letting out a startled gasp as a wall of ice shot towards him. He reeled back his fist and struck through the ice as if it were glass, frozen shards flying through the air around him from the impact. As his vision focused after his attack he realized that the ice had been a distraction for her next attack as she shot out of the settling cloud of dust and ice, her own fist pulled back as she flew straight towards him. Her fist landed against his cheek, his face having been the one part of his body not covered by his hardening.

He let out a pained groan, stumbling back a few paces from the surprising force of her attack, "Damn Natsu-chan, you're scary when you're in the zone."

She landed a few feet away from him, rubbing at her knuckles, very likely having bruised them from the attack, "You should've known better than to mess with my team."

A light chuckle escaped him and he offered her a sheepish, toothy smile, "Ah, well duly noted for next time."

Natsumi narrowed her eyes, "Next time?"

Kirishima laughed and pointed towards the scoreboard, the timer was nearly at zero, "As much fun as this fight has been—"

"Game over! We have our winning teams!" Midnight's voice announced, over the roars of the crowd.

Natsumi straightened up, letting out a long, drawn out breath. Crimson eyes stared down at her throbbing hand, despite the fact that it hadn't collided with his hardened skin and had just been his flesh it had still hurt like a bitch. She'd maybe have to pay a visit to Recovery Girl before the start of the next round to ensure that she was in tip-top shape to take on her next opponent.

She sauntered towards the red-head, running a handed through her sweaty bangs before offering him a small, apologetic smile, "Sorry, Kirishima-kun, I went a little overboard at the end there."

He grinned back at her, waving his hand dismissively, "No worries, it was fun finally getting to go up against you. Hopefully next time we'll actually get to finish our fight without having the timer run out."

Her lips pulled back into an eager grin, "Yeah, you got it!"

Shinsou and Shiozaki suddenly appeared on either side of her, both of them out of breath from having been caught in their own battles. Both looked a little worse for wear, breathing heavily, dust and dirt coating their skin, but they stood proudly beside Natsumi.

"You guys did it." The ivory haired teen grinned.

Shiozaki shook her head, thorny vines bouncing against the back of her uniform from the action, before offering a gentle smile to the girl from 1-A, "No. _We_ did it."

Natsumi laughed, nodding her head in agreement. Her previous rage and frustrations fleeing from her as she looked upon the remainder of her team, feeling immense pride that the three of them had made it to the next round.

Shinsou was the first to get control over his ragged breathing, raising an eyebrow as he turned fully to regard Natsumi. Something flickered in his lilac eyes as he stared at the small teen beside him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Natsumi's lips pulled back into a teasing smile.

He blinked when he realized he had been openly staring and she had caught him. Shinsou rolled his eyes and pointed down towards her hands, "You're bleeding."

She blinked, confusion settling in over her features as she brought her hands up to examine. The boy from 1-C was right. Natsumi really shouldn't have been so surprised by it, that punch to Kirishima had hurt more than she would care to admit. But staring down at her knuckles, now a dark purple-blue, cracked open and bleeding freely she realized the extent of her injuries.

"Shit. I guess I should pay Recovery Girl a visit." A sheepish laugh bubbled out of her.

"Will you be alright? I can walk you to the infirmary if you'd like." Shiozaki's worried tone was almost drown out by the sounds of the crowd roaring to life around them as Midnight began to speak again. The ivory haired teen shook her head, mouthing a 'thank you' to the earthy girl.

"That was quite the event wasn't it? Much more intense than I thought it was going to be, that's for sure! But we have our four winning teams—" The R-Rated Hero pointed her crop towards the scoreboard behind her as it lit up with the names of those who would be progressing to the next event. Not surprising, Todoroki and Bakugou's teams had pulled through, as well as Midoriya's.

Natsumi was still bitter over the loss of Rin, but she was grateful that they had snagged a spot in the third event regardless.

"To make the numbers of the qualifying contestants even we will be taking a student from the group that came in fifth place. Team TetsuTetsu, decide amongst yourselves who you would like to send into the next round. If you're unable to make the decision then we will—"

"We will be sending TetsuTetsu!" Awase called out, pushing his silver haired teammate forward.

Midnight grinned, "Very well! Now that we have our sixteen contestants, we will be taking an hour-long intermission while we prepare the field for the next event! Oh, that reminds me—" She turned once again as the board behind her glowed, words flashing by at such a speed that it was impossible to read them until the movement stopped and one phrase lit up the screen.

 _Battle Tournament_

"Well, there we go! Our next event will be one on one battles, the lineup will be determined after we return from our break." Midnight waved to the crowd, blowing kisses to her adoring fans as they screamed from their seats in the stands

The students on the field all began to disperse, either to enjoy the rest of the festival, grab food, or meditate before the next event.

Natsumi cradled her throbbing hand, silently hoping that she hadn't fractured anything, as she began walking towards the tunnels to go find the nurses station.

Up ahead she could see a burning light, a beacon against the stark darkness of the tunnel system and she immediately grimaced. _I'd recognize those flames anywhere_. She wanted to turn around to avoid having to see _his_ face but…she needed to see Recovery Girl who was just past the Flame Hero.

Natsumi clenched her fists at her side, despite the burning, throbbing pain shooting through her from the action.

Endeavor didn't notice her at first, but as she drew closer the sound of her footsteps alerted him that he was no longer alone and he turned to see who was approaching. Upon seeing it was a student he turned his gaze away…until she was just about to pass him. That's when he recognized her.

How could he not? She looked exactly like—

" _Spectre_." His voice was rough, cold despite the searing heat coming from his body, "I'm surprised they allowed the daughter of that villain to attend Yūei, Nezu must have lost his mind if he thought allowing a monster on school grounds was a good idea."

She stopped abruptly and turned on her heel to face him, bristling at his comment, her eyes narrowed challengingly, "The only monster here is _you_ , Endeavor. You're no Hero, all you are is a ruthless murderer."

The number two Hero scoffed, "What would you know about what it is to be a Hero? I did what needed to be done to ensure the safety of the people of Japan." His eyes suddenly darkened as they settled on her smaller, unwavering form before him, "And I would do it again. _Without hesitation_."

He was intimidating but she refused to allow his presence and his words to get to her because she knew that he absolutely would not hesitate to destroy her and finish the job he started years ago. After…

 _After incinerating her parents._

"No matter who you are, whether Hero, civilian, or villain…everyone should be made to face the consequences of their actions and their sins." She spoke evenly, "When I'm a Hero I will ensure that you receive judgement for all the horrible things you've done under the guise of Hero-work."

Endeavor let out a dark chuckle, "What makes you think _you_ have what it takes to be a Hero?"

"Because I'm determined to show the world that I'm better than what people like _you_ think I am. I will surpass all expectations of me, I will become a Hero and when that time comes I'll come for you." Her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palms to prevent herself from trembling. All of her pent up rage and anger and frustration was beginning to bubble up within her and she was afraid that she would end up doing something that would give him a reason to attack her.

For years she had wondered what an encounter with Endeavor would be like, if he would recognize her despite never having met her, and if he would take it upon himself to destroy her like he had done her parents. For a while, he had been the main antagonist of her nightmares that would lead to her waking in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat and crying out for a mother that was no longer there.

But she was no longer afraid of him.

She was angered and furious with him. How could there still be people out there who looked up to such a cold-hearted Hero?

"Father." Todoroki's voice cut through the loud silence that had befallen the Hero and the defiant student.

Endeavor peeled his gaze away from the girl before him, his attention falling to his son who had stumbled upon them. His lips pulled back into a smirk, "Shouto."

Todoroki strode forward, glancing towards Natsumi with a brief curiosity before he hardened his stare upon his father, "I would appreciate it if you did not harass my classmates." He had just come from speaking with Midoriya and as his shitty luck would have it, the object of his conversation had been just down the tunnel.

The number two Hero scoffed, "Do you know who this is?"

"She is my classmate."

"She's a villain." Endeavor shot back, his voice growing louder as his patience for the situation quickly disintegrated.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes, a sign of his own growing irritation, "She is no such thing and doesn't need to prove herself to you."

The Flame Hero matched his son's stare for a moment longer, snorting he responded with a sneer, "We'll see about that." Before turning on his heels, he called over his shoulder, "I look forward to seeing you use your flames to win the Sports Festival, Shouto."

The bi-color haired boy watched his father retreat with an unreadable expression until he felt the stare of his classmate drilling holes into the side of his head. Angling his chin over his shoulder, he glanced over at the ivory haired teen who had her brows furrowed in deep thought.

He took that moment to look her over. She was filthy, covered in mud from the first event and dust, sweat, and blood from the previous one. He dipped his chin, eyes landing on her bruised and bleeding knuckles that she had seemingly forgotten all about during her encounter with Endeavor.

"You should get that looked at."

"Why?" She mumbled, barely above a whisper but she was standing close enough to him that he was able to hear her just fine.

The boy furrowed his brows, "Because you're bleeding."

"No." She quickly responded, rolling her eyes, "Why did you defend me?"

Todoroki remained impassive as he held her stare, before shrugging his shoulders, "It felt like the right thing to do." Though he wouldn't admit, not even to himself, that maybe he had a soft spot for class 1-A's resident ivory haired troublemaker.

"I can fight my own battles, you know." She attempted to cross her arms over her chest but was met with a searing pain from her damaged knuckles, so she opted to awkwardly hang them by her sides.

He realized that she wasn't going to head to the infirmary by herself any time soon so he began to walk in the direction of where Recovery Girl had set up her temporary clinic. As predicted, Natsumi picked up her pace to catch up with him out of her own growing curiosity towards his actions.

The boy dipped his chin, the corners of his lips upturning, "I know you can."

The images of her in a frenzy darting across the arena to attack him replaying in his mind, her fist reeling back before knuckles collided against his cheek. Absently, he raised his right hand to his cheek to feel if it had become swollen from the impact. It hadn't, but the spot felt sore beneath the graze of his fingertips and he wouldn't have been surprised if it bruised.

Natsumi let out a huff, "I'm still mad at you."

"I know."

They fell into a comfortable silence with only the sound of their footfalls against the concrete tunnel floor echoing around them. It all felt so natural, being in each other's presence once again that Natsumi almost forgot about her anger towards him. Almost.

Her lips pulled back into a small scowl as she remembered how hurt and betrayed she had felt a few hours ago when he had declared, for the entire class to hear, that he didn't consider any of them his friends. After all of their quiet lunchtime conversations, after he had gone out of his way to help her study and catch up on all the work she had missed while she was suspended—none of it made sense to her. How could he just say that none of that mattered to him? She had felt so confident in the idea of Todoroki Shouto as her friend that she never stopped to think otherwise.

"You alright?" He asked after a moment of scrutinizing her, watching as her nose scrunched in contemplation and her eyes narrowed from whatever thought she seemed to be trapped in.

"No, not really." She muttered, giving him a long side glance before looking away, "But it's fine, it doesn't really matter anyway."

He continued to watch her from the corner of his eye, his brows furrowed and finally he let out a small sigh and stopped walking. Natsumi, surprised by his sudden halt in their walk turned to face him with a questioning look.

Todoroki regarded her quietly, waging a silent war within himself before finally, after a long silence that passed between the two of them, his lips parted to speak. Yet, no words came out. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, meeting her gaze evenly, "I'm not good with this sort of thing."

"Talking? Yeah, I figured that out a while ago." Her eyebrows rose, the tone of her voice teasing, though she urged him with her eyes to continue with his train of thought.

He shot her a look that silently said that he was being serious, but struggled with his thoughts and trying to word them. The girl next to him quieted down and watched him with a reassuring tip of her lips.

"I'm…sorry." Todoroki managed, frowning down at her.

Natsumi stared openly at him, taken aback by his apology. That was the last thing she had expected him to say to her, mainly because he was so unapologetically _Todoroki_ , so sure of himself and his actions that she never stopped to consider that he could actually feel remorse. Everything he did always seemed well thought out, he calculated his every move and always remained three steps ahead of his peers. The words _I'm Sorry_ just weren't in his repertoire. Yet, here he was…apologizing to her.

She cracked a teasing smile, "See? Now was that _so_ hard?"

"It was excruciating." He deadpanned, but the light lift of his brows told her that he was relieved she had accepted his apology despite her taunt.

The exchange felt so natural and normal, as if no hard feelings had befallen them in the first place but Natsumi couldn't deny the existence of the nausea bubbling in the pit of her stomach. His words from before still hurt, still stung despite his apology. Was he apologizing for what he said or for their fight in the arena? Knowing him, he probably thought the bloody knuckles happened when she went after him.

"I noticed," She started quietly, hesitating to choose the right words to convey what she wanted to say to him without causing the peaceful moment they were enjoying to spiral back to something they may both regret later on, "the subtle but definite change in your body language and tone when you spoke to _him_."

Mismatched eyes met hers briefly before he tore his gaze away, his fingers twitching at his sides, "We don't…see eye to eye on a lot of things."

She leaned back on the balls of her feet, "Oh, no I totally get that, but you can't let him have that negative hold on you. I don't exactly know the extent of your relationship with him and I don't expect you to sit here and tell me your history but, what I do know, is familial ties mean absolutely nothing if they're being used against you. I mean, you know who my parents are— _were_ —and for the longest time I allowed their presence to overpower me, I did as I was told because they were my parents, you know? But the truth is, he may be your flesh and blood but…if he's only using you for his own personal gain then he's no father figure and the sooner you realize that the sooner his hold over you is broken."

Todoroki listened to her as she spoke and truth be told, he knew that she knew what she was talking about as she relayed her own experiences and thoughts to him but…

"He wants me to be just like him, only stronger." Shouto would become stronger than his father, that much he was certain of as it had been his own goal as well as Endeavor's for the longest time, "He wants me to use my flames— _his_ power—to reach the top."

"You may have inherited your Quirks from your parents but that power is all your own. Your flames are just as much a part of you as your ice is. It's not _him_ , it's not _his_ flames, they're yours and it's _you_ who must decide what you're going to do with that power." She was now mere inches away from him, crimson eyes set into a fixed, determined stare, "You're allowing him to rule your life and your thoughts and because of that you're denying yourself the chance to become the great Hero that you could be if you just used both aspects of your abilities."

He let out a loud exhale, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath as she spoke. Her words were blunt, truthful, and they made sense to him but…all those years of repressing his thoughts and emotions because his father saw feeling as a weakness came rushing back to him. Shouto resented his father for a plethora of reasons, most of which revolved around what had happened to his mother and the abuse that they both shared at Endeavor's hand.

It was almost funny, how the conversation he and Natsumi were currently having mirrored the one that he and Midoriya had had in the dark corridors of the tunnels before he had run into her and his father. And despite the similar message they were both trying to get across to him…what ran through his mind were images of the powerful, destructive Quirk that his father possessed. Nothing scared him more than the thought of becoming just like that _monster_.

His silence didn't bother her because she knew that it was a lot for him to think about, but she desperately wished that he was as easy to read as the rest of her classmates. His stoic posture and stony expression gave her absolutely no glimpse into the inner workings of his mind and that frustrated her, it always had.

"All I'm saying is, it's your choice whether you use your flames or not but if you decide to then do it for you. Show the world the type of Hero _you_ want to become, don't just lock that part of yourself away from the world because you're afraid you'll be associated with and compared to your father. You're your own person, you've got to live your own life and step out of his shadow."

Todoroki's lips twitched and he let out a quiet chuckle, barely audible and she would have missed it had she not been standing so close to him.

"You're not half bad at this whole pep talk thing."

Her left foot slid forward as she leaned back on the heel of her right, her shoulders rising and falling gently in a dismissive shrug, "Oh you know, one of my many talents."

A small snort escaped him at her quick jump in attitude from serious to cocky, "Is that so?"

They continued their walk and in a matter of moments had finally made it to their destination, Recovery Girl was busying herself inside when they arrived but quickly strode forward to assess the damage to the young teen's hand.

The medically trained Hero gently turned Natsumi's hand over in her own, stretching out the fingers and moving her wrist this way and that while asking the teen if what she was doing was painful. For the most part it wasn't, but Natsumi did have a high tolerance for pain.

"Luckily for you, it looks like it's bruised with small abrasions along your knuckles. Ordinarily, I would send you home with some ointment and instruct you to keep the area clean, without using my Quirk on such a minor injury. But," The older woman let out a small sigh, her bright eyes crinkling at the corners as she stared up at the teen who had seemed almost panicked by the thought of going into the next round with a damaged hand, "I will get this healed up quickly so that you may rest up before the next event. Don't give me that look, did you really think I'd send you out there and allow you to compete with an injury?"

Natsumi grinned sheepishly down at the woman, "Well, I had hoped that you wouldn't."

Recovery Girl released her hold on the young teen's hand and shuffled away to grab antiseptic and gauze. Once she returned with the materials she set to work, cleaning away the dirt, grime, and blood from Natsumi's injured hand before sterilizing it. The ivory haired teen cringed as the antiseptic made contact with her opened cuts, the sting was quickly replaced by the feeling of Recovery Girl's wet lips planting a big smooch right in the center of her bruised knuckles.

The relief was pretty instantaneous, though left Natsumi feeling mildly lightheaded.

"Take it easy until your next match. The abrasions and bruising should be healed by then but your body will be expending your own energy to do so. Rest up and grab yourself something to eat to replenish your lost strength." The older woman shoved her hand down into her pocket, pulling out a handful of candies wrapped in brightly colored foil. She deposited the sweets into Natsumi's outstretched hand and sent her on her way.

Todoroki had waited outside the door for her, amused when she shuffled out of the clinic while chewing on a piece of chocolate. She extended her palm, offering him the candy that she had just been given but he politely declined with a shake of his head.

He waited until they were a ways away from Recovery Girl's office before casting a sideways glance in her direction, "I will think about what you said but I still stand by my oath from earlier. I plan to win and will not allow anyone to get in the way of my victory."

She hummed contemplatively, her lips pulling back into a competitive smirk, "Good, then my victory will be so much sweeter. I'll see you in the finals."

He dipped his chin, his gaze rising to meet hers, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, "Good luck, I look forward to it."

The bi-color haired boy took his leave, deciding that he'd go and strategize in his designated waiting room. There were only a handful of his classmates that he would consider actual threats to his victory and Natsumi was one of them, she could destroy his ice as quickly as he could make it. She was strong and he was sure that they would eventually meet in the finals, he needed to prepare for when that time came. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but inwardly he was relieved that the hostility between them had been resolved. Todoroki planned on winning, but maybe his victory didn't have to come at the cost of their friendship.

Natsumi watched his retreating back as it became smaller and smaller the further away he got until he took a turn and vanished down another series of hallways. She really felt like they had made some progress in repairing whatever relationship they had and she looked forward to meeting him in the finals.

 _Ugh, hopefully I don't have to fight Bakugou to get there._ Just the thought was enough to bring a grimace to her face. Not that she was afraid of the ash blond, but she was sure that he would absolutely try to kill her on his way to the top.

 _I wish they had given us the names of our first opponents beforehand to make it easier to prepare for the next fight._ A soft groan escaped her lips at the thought.

A loud gurgle caught her attention and she quickly whipped her head this way and that to make sure the coast was clear and that no one had heard the hungry protests of her stomach. Satisfied when she confirmed that she was, in fact, alone in the dim corridors she started forward with the intention of grabbing some lunch before the start of the next event.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! This one took longer than intended to churn out because I've had a lot going on in my life that kept me busy. But also, because I wasn't very happy with the original draft of this chapter. I had actually thought that I finished this about a week ago…and then I woke up the next day and realized that I wasn't very happy with it. The original draft didn't have any Todoroki at all in it and I realized that was silly.

So I sat back down and started writing more…and it just kept coming and coming and now this has become the longest chapter that I have ever written of anything lol.

Also, during my absence I have become Aizawa trash, in the best way possible. I might end up writing a second story about him because of my newfound love for him, so watch out for that if I do decide to do that lol.

I also really really want to thank everyone who favorited and followed the story! It means so much to me, I know I sound like a broken record every chapter, but it truly means so much to know that people are actually interested in the silly stories that I write.

And everyone who reviewed, I didn't have time to respond personally, but just know that this chapter was possible because of you. Each time I got a notification of a new review my heart would swell and I would, no joke, get off my ass and start writing again because I didn't want to disappoint. SO! With that said, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you think, because chances are your reviews will help me get the next chapter out quicker because it motivates me!

Before this ends up becoming too long, I want to let you know that I also created a tumblr specifically for this story where I will post all of my Natsumi fanart and sneak peeks and updates on chapters as I write them. So if you're interested in that type of thing go give me a follow over at **rynxenvy. tumblr. com**


	12. Chapter 12

Natsumi found herself enjoying the peace and quiet of her designated waiting room while she watched the clock slowly tick down to their final event. After she and Todoroki had parted ways she had wandered back outside amongst the food stalls once more, this time ordering herself some Takoyaki and grabbing herself a bottle of herbal tea. After that, she had made her way back to her waiting room and laid down on the couch, eating her lunch and playing games on her phone. It wasn't until the time on her phone showed that she had ten minutes left of her respite that she had locked the device and resigned herself to staring at the ticking hands of the clock on the wall above the door.

Realistically, she knew that she should have already been on her feet and making her way down towards the field but the couch was so comfortable. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, the cushions beneath her were so inviting, calling to her like a siren out at sea. She just wanted to close her…

"Nope, not today Satan." She immediately shot up, willing the lull of sleep away. Running a hand through her tangled curls that fell freely around her, she let out a small groan when her fingers got caught in a particularly nasty knot. She could feel chunks of mud clinging to her milky-white tresses and she desperately wished she was able to shower to rid herself of the dirt and debris that still clung desperately to her body.

That was going to be the first thing she did as soon as the Sports Festival was over; run home and immediately stand in the shower for an hour to make sure she cleaned all the grime from her body. The teen allowed her eyes to drift closed to the soothing thought and was starting to drift away once again when her phone _dinged_ , bringing her back to reality.

Standing quickly, so as not to allow the temptation of sleep to creep over her once more, she tossed her phone into her bag and made a beeline for the door. She needed to rejoin her classmates. They were a rowdy bunch and would surely be able to rouse her out of her exhaustion.

* * *

She made it to the tunnel without much of a hassle and was surprised to find her female classmates all waiting anxiously for her while wearing the most ridiculous outfits Natsumi had ever seen. She quirked a curious brow at the skimpy cheerleader costumes the girls were wearing, eyes suddenly widening as Yaoyorozu held up a matching set towards her.

"Oh no, absolutely _not_." She growled, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly.

"Please, Natsu-chan. If we don't go out there as a class we're going to be reprimanded for our insubordination and inability to follow simple instructions." The regal girl pleaded with her, chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

Natsumi frowned, "I don't understand why they expect us to wear these stupid outfits in front of that entire stadium of people. It's embarrassing and not to mention demeaning."

"I don't get it either but I think we look super cute." Ashido grinned, twirling in a circle and allowing her pleated miniskirt to fan out around her before shimmying and wiggling her pompoms cutely.

"It was decided by the teachers that we'd go out and do a cheer and get everyone pumped up for the next event." Yaoyorozu explained, watching the silver-haired teen as she considered the words very carefully before finally, after a minute or two of complete and utter silence, resigned to her fate and reached forward to pull the costume towards herself.

"Fine." Natsumi relented with a huff, turning on her heel and stomping towards the bathroom to change. She didn't like the thought of wearing something so revealing in front of so many people, but she'd be damned if she and her classmates got punished simply because she refused to go along with some stupid, outdated, and sexist tradition. At least, she assumed it must've been a tradition for the girls in the Hero course to perform a cheer for the crowd—she had never seen the Sports Festival before so this was all foreign to her.

She pushed open the door to the girl's bathroom and locked herself in one of the stalls, pulling the outfit off of its hanger and staring at it gingerly. A small groan escaped her parted lips as she slipped off her uniform and pulled on the atrociously bright orange, white, and green trimmed crop top, followed by the matching pleated mini skirt. Natsumi could honestly say that she had never worn something so short and revealing in her entire life and decided that she did not enjoy the chill that washed over her uncovered legs and arms. She was naturally cold due to the nature of her Quirk which was why she opted for wearing long sleeved clothing on a regular basis, she just hoped that they wouldn't be expected to wear these outfits for too long.

She exited the bathroom and suddenly felt extremely self-conscious, absently pulling the hem of her skirt down in an attempt to cover more of her pale legs.

" _Damn_. Natsu-chan you look cute as fuck." Ashido squealed, rushing over and circling the crimson eyed teen like a cat stalking its prey.

"I feel ridiculous." Natsumi admitted, brows drawn tightly together and eyes narrowed.

"Aw don't be like that; we all have to do it." Ochako offered a small smile, "Now, let's go out there and cheer our hearts out!"

As they made it out onto the field the sudden realization struck them all that, perhaps, this wasn't an idea sanctioned by their teachers after all…

" _What kind of fan service is this?!"_ Present Mic's voice sputtered out in surprise across the stadium.

" _What are you doing?"_ Aizawa's deadpanned voice was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Yaoyorozu collapsed to her knees in defeat, eyes wide and a small whimper escaped her, "I can't believe of fell for their tricks again."

Off to the side of the field, Mineta and Kaminari leaned against each other, thumbs up in appreciation, drool slowly dribbling down their chins, and wide grins plastered over their faces at the sight of the girls.

"This was the greatest idea you've ever come up with." The blond laughed, peering down at the purple haired boy beside him.

"I'm going to be dreaming about this moment for years to come." Mineta sighed wistfully, "Just look how Yaoyorozu-chan's boobs practically burst out of her top, and oh god look how bouncy Ashido-chan's are as she jumps up and down! Oh my god I'm going to explode! Did you see Natsu-chan's ass peeking out of the bottom of her skirt!? Kaminari, this is the greatest day of my life!"

"It's also going to be your _last_ , you fucking cockroach." Natsumi seethed, pulling herself back to her feet after her initial collapse in defeat. Her eyes narrowed on the boys, lips pulled into a thin, angry scowl. Her fists shook at her side, she was so upset that she was trembling, actually _quaking_ with rage.

"N-now now, Natsu-chan, d-don't be so upset!" Mineta stuttered, eyes wide in fear as she stalked across the field towards him, "It was all in g-good f-fun."

" _Fun_? You took advantage of us and made us look like fools on national television, to all these people here in the crowds." A feral growl escaped her, fingers reached forward to grasp the lapels of Mineta's uniform shirt, yanking him up to her level. His feet dangled helplessly as he stared fearfully into her angry crimson eyes.

"I'm s-s-sorry, p-please don't hurt m-me." He cried, biting his lip, sweat pouring down his face.

"Ah, Natsu-chan." Tsu croaked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Maybe you shouldn't do this here, _in front of all these people_ , kero."

Natsumi glanced back at the girl with kelp colored hair before trailing her gaze up to the stands of observers who were all staring down at her and muttering amongst themselves. She bit her lip and let out a frustrated huff of air from her nose before dropping the boy and backing away from him without another word. Mineta scrambled to his feet and ran back towards Kaminari.

A shiver ran through her, goosebumps pricked at her skin and Natsumi crossed her arms over her chest subconsciously. She just hoped that the rest of the boys in her class hadn't been paying attention to the whole cheerleading debacle, her cheeks exploded with warmth at the thought. _How embarrassing_.

"Where're you going?" Ochako called out to her, concern lacing her words, "They're about to announce the matchups and we all have to be on the field for that."

The ivory haired girl raised her hand dismissively as she stalked back towards the tunnel, "I'm going to change, there is no way in hell I'm going to wear this any longer. I'll be out there soon."

* * *

"Cutting it close, aren't you, Natsu-chan?" Ashido offered her a teasing grin as Natsumi stumbled out onto the field with moments to spare as Midnight took to the field and pressed a button on her remote control. A combination of names flashed across the screen in rapid succession before the movement halted and the first round of brackets were determined.

Natsumi's eyes landed on the two names listed next to each other for the very first battle.

 _Shinsou Hitoshi vs. Midoriya Izuku._

Her crimson gaze darted around the field until they landed on a familiar head of spiked lilac locks. He didn't notice her stare, his attention was focused on his opponent, indigo eyes narrowed at the curly haired boy across the field from him.

 _That'll be interesting, I don't know who to root for. I want them both to win, logically that can't happen, but ugh._

She turned her attention back to the battle lineup on the brightly lit screen above them, her eyes roving over the list of names until they landed on her own. Her lips curled back into a smirk, she angled her head to her left and locked eyes with Kaminari who gave her a nervous thumbs up.

 _This'll be fun._

Now that the first round of opponents had been chosen, Midnight had dismissed everyone from the field. The students all dispersed, either heading towards the stands so they could watch the battles before having to participate in their own, or heading back out to enjoy the festival and grab some more food in the meantime.

Natsumi was tempted to grab herself another snack, not knowing how much time she'd truthfully have to herself later on once the event started back up. She was one of the last ones off of the field trailing quietly behind the mass of students grouped together in front of her as they made their way through the corridors beneath the stadium stands.

She was about to take the turn to head outside to the food stalls once again when she heard an awkward cough from beside her and chanced a glance over her shoulder. Midoriya stood, hand outstretched as if he were about to latch onto her sleeve, brows furrowed and chewing anxiously on his bottom lip.

"S-sorry Natsu-chan. I, uh, c-can we talk in private?" He stuttered, pulling his hand back and nervously fiddling with his fingers.

A small smile curled her lips upwards as she took in the boy before her. His mossy green curls as unruly as ever, several defiant strands falling just above his emerald eyes, downcast as he now refused to meet her gaze. She wondered what had gotten him so worked up that it made him too nervous to look at her and barely able to speak to her without stuttering.

Sure, Midoriya had a tendency to stumble over his words from time to time, especially if he didn't know the person he was talking to very well but…she had thought he was over that nervous habit with her.

She fought back the frown that threatened to replace the soft smile she had offered him, "Of course, Midoriya-kun. Let's head to your waiting room, we can chat there."

They walked in silence the entire way there, it was excruciatingly awkward for both parties as Midoriya tried to piece together his thoughts and Natsumi attempted to figure out what it could be that he wanted to speak to her about. She knew that his match would be starting in fifteen minutes and didn't want to take up too much of his time when he should've been strategizing so she would be sure to steer the conversation to a conclusion quickly.

They made it to the floor where each participant's designated room was for waiting between matches. Yūei spared no expense when it came to the Sports Festival and that meant giving each contestant that made it to the final event their own quiet place to sit and think and be alone.

"What's on your mind?" She asked once the door was closed behind her and they were alone at last.

The boy bit his lip once more, fidgeting with his hands.

"You can talk to me you know, I'm not going to bite." Natsumi teased, stepping forward to take a seat at the table in the center of the room and motioning for him to sit with her.

Midoriya shuffled forwards, pulling out the chair beside her and taking a seat, bringing his chin up so that he could meet her gaze, "W-well…you worked with Shinsou-san in the last round. You two seemed rather comfortable with each other so I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to ask you but would you be able to tell me what his Quirk is? I didn't have much time to observe him since things were happening so quickly and everyone kept coming after me and my team but—"

She quickly brought up her hand and covered her mouth with her palm to stifle the laughter that began to erupt from her. Midoriya looked startled by the action, unsure as to why she was openly laughing at him. Suddenly a myriad of thoughts forced their way into his head, all negative in connotation. Maybe she and his opponent were closer than he had originally thought! He was foolish to ask for help from her against Shinsou. He didn't want her to feel like she was betraying the lilac haired boy's trust.

He opened his mouth to apologize but she quickly cut him off before he could stutter out an 'I'm sorry', "Midoriya-kun, I'm laughing because I thought you brought me up here to talk about something serious with how anxious you were acting down in the tunnel. Obviously I'll help you, you're my friend, I'm not going to leave you hanging like that."

Relief colored his cheeks; how could he have doubted her? He knew they were friends, but he didn't want to step on any toes and would have understood completely if she had turned him down in favor of protecting her friend's element of surprise.

She sobered up, removing her hand from her face, leaning her elbow against the surface of the table and using her palm to prop her chin up, "I don't really know all the details in all honesty, I only found out about it today but—he said his Quirk is called 'Brainwashing'. If you respond to anything he says to you it activates and he has control over you. It was pretty handy during the last event, especially when Bakugou fell for it _so_ quickly and then after that he was off our scent for the rest of the tournament."

Bright green eyes widened at the revelation of his opponents Quirk, he placed his thumb and index finger to his chin and lowered his eyes in thought, "He can't control me if I don't speak to him? That shouldn't be too hard, I'll just focus on fighting him. He's from General Studies and probably hasn't done much strength training so I should have the advantage over him in that aspect—argh, I'm being presumptuous. He did mention how his dream was to become a Hero, who's to say that he hasn't been training himself on the side? This fight might be more difficult than I anticipated—"

As he started muttering to himself Natsumi took that as her cue to leave, he was oblivious to her presence at that point and she had given him all the information she had and would no longer be useful to his strategizing anyway.

* * *

With a content sigh, Natsumi picked off a piece of the blue spun sugar and popped it into her mouth, relishing in the sweet taste as the cotton candy instantly melted on her tongue. She was so impressed by the wide variety of snacks the festival had to offer, though she knew that she'd be regretting buying so many later when she went over her weekly budget. But for now, she was happy to live in the moment and eat as many treats as she could.

"You look happy." Kirishima laughed as he took the seat directly behind her in the stadium as they waited for the first battle to begin.

Slowly but surely the rest of her classmates started filing into 1-A's designated viewing box, many of them holding their own sweet or savory treats to enjoy.

"Mhmm." She hummed happily, pulling a deep fried oreo out of the bag sitting in her lap and munching on it. She held up the bag of confections to the red-head who gratefully reached his hand inside and pulled out the fried treat, turning it over in his hand before chomping down on it and making a delighted grumble.

"I feel like every time I've seen you today you've been eating." Ochako laughed, elbowing her friend in the side teasingly as she took the seat to Natsumi's left.

"Fair food is my weakness." Natsumi answered, voice completely serious as she met Ochako's stare with a deadpan one of her own.

"That sounds about right." Todoroki smirked as he took the seat to her right, quirking a brow at the pile of sweets in her lap.

"I don't appreciate being ganged up on like this." She shot back, eyes narrowed and never once breaking her gaze with Todoroki as she brought another fried oreo up to her lips, taking a large bite out of it.

He brought a hand up to his lips and used it to stifle a snort.

Ochako stared, wide-eyed, at the two, "I…Todoroki-kun did you just, did you just _laugh_?"

"Oh hey, you guys are back to getting along again? That's awesome!" Kirishima grinned, leaning forward so that his face was between Todoroki and Natsumi's before he reached forward over the girl's shoulder and dug his hand down into her bag of fried cookies.

She rolled her eyes and furrowed her brows, "You know…if you wanted another you could've just asked."

The red-head laughed sheepishly, pulling his hand back and munching on the oreo he had grabbed, "Ahaha, sorry Natsu-chan. They're just so good, it's like they were callin' out to me."

Natsumi waved her hand dismissively at him, "I'm just bustin' your balls, Kirishima-kun."

"Natsu-channnn, I would give anything to have you be anywhere near my balls!" Mineta cried out, attempting to climb over the tops of the seats to fling himself at her. Right as he was about to grab her, his little fingers groping for her, she turned herself intangible and watched as he sailed right through her, tumbling over the row of seats in front of her and smacking his head against the guard rail.

"Why have you not been expelled yet?" She deadpanned as she re-appeared in her seat, eyes narrowed down at the boy who was groaning in pain.

"You okay, Natsu-chan?" Ochako frowned, turning to face her friend.

"I'm the one who hit my head!" Mineta moaned, clutching at his throbbing head.

"Yeah, but you got what you deserved." Jirou piped up from behind the two girls, one of her earphone jacks pointing at him in a threatening manner.

" _Yeeeeeahhhh! Welcome back listeners, to the second event of the Sports Festival! Our first fight is bound to be a special one! We have Hero Class 1-A's resident troublemaker, Midoriya Izuku, ready to battle it out against our mysterious newcomer, and only contestant not from a Hero course, Shinsou Hitoshi!"_ Present Mic's overly exuberant voice pulled everyone's attention away from their personal conversations and back to the stage down below as the two teens entered from opposite sides of the arena and converged together at the center of the stage where Midnight had them shake hands before their fight.

Natsumi leaned forward in her seat, peering down at the two teens below. She was having an inner struggle as to who she should root for _. Midoriya is my classmate and my friend so I definitely should hope for him to win but…I just…see myself in Shinsou and he's worked so fucking hard to get here. He deserves this too._

"Ugh. _Fuck_." She groaned, cheeks immediately reddening when she realized she had said that out loud.

Several of her classmates, the ones within hearing range of her, turned curiously at her outburst.

"You alright?" Todoroki rose a brow questioningly.

"Ah, yeah." Natsumi laughed sheepishly, "I'm just…not sure who I should root for is all."

Her classmates all collectively gasped at the revelation, Ochako almost looked offended by the statement, "What do you mean? Aren't you hoping for Deku-kun to win?!"

"Why would you even consider cheering for someone else?" Kaminari frowned.

Todoroki glanced at her from the corner of his eye, equally as befuddled by what she had said, though he made no comment on the matter. He would sit back and listen to the conversation around him and hear what she had to say without interjecting.

"Come to think of it," Kirishima stroked his chin in thought, "you and that guy were on a team last round. I didn't realize you were _that_ close with that Gen. Ed kid."

"I-I'm not!" She sputtered, "It's just, he and I are similar is all."

At that, Todoroki angled his chin so that he was staring at her, "How so?"

For a brief moment she appeared to fidget in her seat, unease flickering across her face at the question, "Well, he told me that he knew what it was like to be seen as the bad guy. And he was so… _apprehensive_ about telling me what his Quirk was I could just tell that, in the past, people have judged him purely by his Quirk and not by him as a person." Her lips curled into a frown as she remembered their conversation right before the start of the second round, "I just…in that moment I could relate. So I do want him to do well…but that's not to say that I want Midoriya-kun to lose either, because he's also worked really hard to get here."

The boy beside her continued to stare at her, brows knitted tightly together in contemplation over what she had just said. He remained quiet, a small frown tugging at the corners of his lips.

Ochako hummed thoughtfully, "I see, in that case—" She leaned forward, raising a fist in the air as she stared down at the two boys, "Do your best, you two~!"

From down below the two boys, somehow heard the brunette's shouts over the crowd, both turned to glance up. Midoriya blushed and grinned back towards the bubbly teen, while Shinsou cast a glance over his shoulder and raised a curious eyebrow. Natsumi leaned forward and offered a small wave, to which the lilac haired boy closed his eyes and smirked before turning back to his opponent.

"Realistically, who do you think has a better chance of winning?" Kaminari asked his class.

"Well, I didn't really see that Shinsou guy's Quirk during the last round."

"I'm not really sure what he is capable of but he must be a formidable opponent if he was able to make it this far without having previous training." Yaoyorozu muttered quietly.

"Natsu-chan, you know the most about him—"

"—I mean, I really don't." The crimson eyed teen interjected.

"—You know more than the rest of us, considering you worked with him last round. What's his Quirk like?" Ashido had her elbows resting on her knees, her chin laying across her steepled fingers as she scooted forward to peer down at the ivory haired teen sitting in front of her.

Natsumi bit her lip, turning the thought over in her head as to whether or not she should come out and tell her friends what Shinsou's Quirk was. It was their trump card in the last round but now that his battle with Midoriya was about to begin everyone would see his ability first hand anyway…so there really wasn't much point in keeping it a secret after all.

"He has the ability to Brainwash anyone who responds to something that he says to them. It's something that would definitely come in handy if someone doesn't know what his Quirk is, but Midoriya-kun knows. So, unless Shinsou is able to trick him into saying something, this battle is going to be incredibly one sided." Her lips twitched into a small frown.

The battle started and it did, truly, seem like Midoriya would take a quick victory against the boy from the General Education course. For a moment they stood there in silence, facing each other from opposing sides of the arena with Shinsou speaking words that were drowned out by the spectating crowds. Midoriya never faltered in his resolve to stay quiet, instead bursting forward with an immense speed with his fist pulled back.

However, Shinsou was somehow quick enough to dodge the impending attack, swiveling on his feet and appearing behind the mossy haired boy, a smirk painted his lips.

"What's going on? They're just standing there?" Hagakure trilled in confusion.

"I think…" Natsumi squinted against the harsh glare of the sunlight, peering down at the two boys on the field below before blinking rapidly, "he got him."

"What? How? When?" Ochako blurted out questions in rapid succession, unable to conceal her panic.

"He must have provoked Midoriya with words that he could not ignore." Todoroki supplied _. It wouldn't be hard, just belittle his friends and Midoriya is quick to lose his resolve and jump to their defense._

" _What's this?! Midoriya is willingly walking himself towards the barrier_?!" Present Mic's bewilderment fueled the crowd's burning desire to understand what was happening down below and why one of the contestants would give up without a fight.

"Deku! Snap out of it!" Ochako cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed but the boy below continued to walk, in a daze, towards the designated out of bounds line completely oblivious to the encouraging shouts of the crowd.

" _What's this?! Midoriya has stopped just inches from crossing the barrier!"_

The entire crowd was on the edge of their seats, none more so than that of class 1-A as they leaned forward to try to get a better vantage point of what was happening down below.

Midoriya's foot was literally an inch away from the disqualification line, his fingers twitching at his side, though there was absolutely no change in his expression—it remained dull and blank despite his inner struggles.

"He's fighting it." The dual-color haired boy surmised quietly.

"That kid is stronger than most people give him credit for." Natsumi breathed, a wide grin breaking out on to her face as the boy below was finally able to regain his senses and dashed across the field towards Shinsou.

Shinsou stumbled back in surprise, no one had ever been able to break out of his mind control before. He did his best to keep up, dodging when he could, but without the proper training of a Hero he was sorely lacking in experience and Midoriya was just so damn _fast_.

The actual fight, once Midoriya had broken Shinsou's connection, had lasted a matter of seconds and the mossy haired boy was being declared the winner by Present Mic.

Shinsou's lips pulled back into a scowl, he had so much to work on if he could even consider going up against the Hero course again like that. He turned to leave, disappointed in himself, when he caught bits and pieces of the conversations happening in the stands above him.

" _Wow, that's some powerful Quirk that kid's got!"_

" _Why isn't he in the Hero Course? He could do so much good with that!"_

His sour expression melted away in an instant and was replaced by a softer look, a feeling he couldn't quite place yet. People were finally starting to see him. _Really see him_. Despite his loss he was proud of himself for making it this far in the first place, not many non-hero course students shared that bragging right. Indigo eyes trailed up to the stands and locked on to eager crimson, a bright grin on her face as she offered him a wave followed by a thumbs up.

 _I'll do better next time; this is just the start._ Shinsou's lips tipped into a small smile as he left the field.

* * *

The next couple of matches went by in a blur. Todoroki absolutely dominated Sero in a matter of seconds by encompassing him in a glacier. Shiozaki and Ashido fought against each other and everyone was surprised when the earthy girl from 1-B had taken the victory. The match that took place right before Natsumi's was Iida against Hatsume, an eccentric girl from the Support Department.

That fight had been less of a battle and more of a way for the pink haired teen to showcase her inventions, or her 'babies' as she deemed to call them. Iida was absolutely mortified by his victory; he had won by default when the support student willingly forfeited.

Pretty soon Natsumi found herself leaving the stands where her classmates were seated and trekking down to the field for her first battle. Her fingers tingled with excitement, she couldn't wait to show everyone what she was made of and it had been a while since she had a decent fight. That, and she was eager to get back at Kaminari for the whole cheerleading stunt.

" _This next battle is sure to be flashy! From troubled past to bright future, it's Class 1-A's very own Kurosawa Natsumi versus fellow classmate Kaminari 'Fast as Lightning' Denki!"_

She cringed at the introduction, quietly shooting a displeased glare towards the commentator's box where she knew Present Mic was stationed. He had a big mouth and absolutely no tact whatsoever, she'd known this since her very first class with him. Still, she had expected a little more decorum when being introduced to the thousands of spectators…

" _Wait…that name sounds familiar?"  
"Isn't she-?"  
"She's the daughter of Hydra and Spectre!"  
"They allowed her back after that fiasco at USJ?!"  
"What were they thinking allowing someone like her into Yūei?" _

Her lips curled into a frown, picking up bits and pieces of the conversations happening around her. She knew this would happen, it was to be expected, but it still _stung_. Her chest constricted, mouth going dry with words on the tip of her tongue that she couldn't bear, or bring herself, to retaliate to the crowd with.

"Hey, Natsu-chan!" Kaminari grinned, waving across the field at her and effectively pulling her out of her own self-deprecating thoughts, "I won't go easy on you just 'cause you're a cute girl."

She snorted, "And I won't go easy on you because you're _you_."

"Good—wait, hey! What's that supposed to mean?" He whined, unsure of whether he should be offended by her statement or not.

"That's for me to know," She tossed her ivory braid over her shoulder, crouching into a defensive position right as the buzzer rang to start the battle, "and you to find out!"

Kaminari knew he would have to end the fight quickly, he'd seen her fight in the last round, albeit very briefly, and he knew how intense Natsumi could be in the heat of battle. The blond needed to electrify her and take her down before she had the chance to lose her cool.

"You're hesitating." She laughed, producing icy projectiles and shooting them in his direction. Breaking into a grin as she watched him scramble out of the way of her attack, one of the frozen weapons whizzing past his cheek, leaving a thin cut in its wake. Kaminari absently lifted his hand, allowing his fingers to brush against the fresh cut and wincing at the stinging sensation that followed the action. When he brought his hand away from his face, fingers tinged by a sticky crimson, he shot a startled look towards the girl standing across from him.

"Ah, you know I'm no good at strategizing." He chuckled sheepishly before widening his stance, "Guess I should get serious, huh?" Kaminari's golden gaze remained trained on her, he couldn't allow for any more slip ups on his part. He was in it to win it.

Crimson eyes narrowed at the boy across from her, she knew what his offensive position looked like and that could only mean one thing—he was about to use his Quirk. Quickly, she brought her arms up in a semi-circle, pulling the moisture from the air and freezing it into a dome of ice that fully encompassed her body like an igloo. Seconds later she could hear the crackling electricity and feel the pressure of his lightning slamming against her ice, small cracks formed like fissures along the ceiling of her protective barrier and she was quick to reinforce it with more ice. Static pulled her bangs towards the roof of her makeshift shelter and she let out an annoyed huff, trying to smooth down the hair before facing the stadium of thousands once more.

She waited a couple of seconds before phasing through the ice, eyes set in a narrowed, wary gaze as she searched the field for the electrifying blond. She took a few cautious steps forward, brows knitted together in confusion. He couldn't have just disappeared—

Natsumi let out a gasp of realization, whirling around as a bolt of lightning crackled through the air towards her, there was no time to dodge out of the way. As the attack hit her, she felt her body convulse involuntarily, her eyes rolled back in her head and a string of drool slipped past her lips and dribbled down to her chin. White, hot pain coursed through her like thousands of fiery needles poking into her vulnerable flesh. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but to her it felt like an eternity of torture.

When she came out of it Kaminari was rushing towards her, she was too fried from being electrocuted that she was unable to move out of the way quickly enough to avoid the punch her landed to her stomach. She sputtered as the air left her lungs, coughing violently. Natsumi was able to snap out of her stupor thanks to the blow, wiping away the drool trickling down her chin with the back of her hand.

"Fuck. Now I know why they tell us _not_ to stick forks in the electrical sockets as kids." She groaned, fingers absently massaging her throbbing temples.

Kaminari stood a ways back, lips tugging into a taunting grin, "And I didn't even use the full extent of my power on you."

"Well good because that fucking _hurt_." An annoyed growl slipped past her lips, she darted forward with a speed almost to fast to track with the naked eye. Kaminari decided to run, there was absolutely no way he'd just stand there waiting for her to strike him.

A laugh bubbled from deep within her as she chased after him, "Don't tell me you're _scared_."

"No offense, but, you're really scary sometimes—oof!" He cried out in surprise as she caught up, ramming her shoulder into his back and causing him to completely lose his balance. He fell unceremoniously to the ground with her on top of him, her fingers grasping at his arms to keep him pinned beneath her.

"Caught ya."

His cheeks tinged a light pink and he winked up at her in a flirtatious manner despite the precarious situation he was in, "This would be so hot…under different circumstances."

She let out a bark of laughter, tightening her grip on him, "I'm sure you'll be fantasizing about this later on."

Play time was over though. She needed to end the fight before she expended too much energy, plus she was hungry again and wanted to snag some more yakitori from the vendor stalls before the start of round two.

Kaminari wiggled beneath her but she kept a firm grip on his wrists, holding them above his head. He felt the rime forming beneath her finger tips, coating his wrists before hardening into a thicker block of ice. The boy let out a hiss of discomfort at the drastic drop in temperature, flexing his fingers but unable to pry his frozen wrists apart. A soft groan escaped him and he did the only thing he could think to do, he brought his knees up and plowed them straight into her back, knocking her off balance from the sheer surprise of his attack.

Kaminari used that brief moment of distraction to slide out from underneath her. He brought his wrists down to his side and used them as leverage to push himself to his feet. It would be difficult to fight her with his wrists still bound in their frozen handcuffs, but he needed to get away first before he could think about breaking through his bindings; so, he ran. He ran as fast and as hard as his feet would carry him to the other side of the field, not surprised that she had picked herself back up rather quickly and was aiming her open-faced palms at him in preparation of one of her famous projectile attacks.

As he predicted, shards of ice about 4 inches in length materialized and shot through the air towards him. He was able to dodge the majority of them, though he wasn't quite as nimble as he could've been if he had use of his arms. A few of the blades of ice made contact, two pierced through the material of his uniform and left clean cuts along his shoulder, one lodged itself into his abdomen, and another glided across his left thigh. Kaminari let out a pained yelp, staring down at the ice sticking out of his stomach. It only pierced his skin by a few centimeters, not enough to actually cause any real damage but it still hurt like a bitch and was enough to halt his movements long enough for her to catch up to him.

"You're lucky I like you, otherwise that could've been much worse." She mused, reeling back her fist and striking him hard enough in his shoulder to send him toppling over. Without the ability to use his arms to catch himself, he landed harshly against the ground, staring up as she stood over him.

"I really am sorry." Natsumi offered him a lopsided smile as ice slowly formed beneath her feet, crawling towards him in an eerie fashion that reminded him of some sort of classic horror movie. The cold suddenly enveloped him, starting at his feet and moving up towards his neck until he was encased in a block of ice.

" _Kaminari Denki is unable to continue! Kurosawa Natsumi is the winner!"_

Cheers echoed through the stadium, completely overpowering the whispers and jeers from the few civilians who had recognized her and had negative things to say. Natsumi pulled the water molecules from the ice trapping Kaminari in his icy prison until he was completely free, if not a little wet and cold. She offered him a hand, which he gratefully accepted, hoisting him to his feet.

"Ah, I should've known you'd kick my ass." He laughed good-naturedly, flexing his fingers and wiggling his wrists to bring back the feeling and wash away the numbness that had settled in.

She tilted her head, "You gave me a run for my money in the beginning there."

His lips split into a wide grin, "You're right, I did, didn't I?"

The blond motioned for her to follow him off the battle field so they could rejoin their classmates but she stood glued to her spot. Crimson eyes wandering over the faces of the cheering crowd surrounding the field, they were yelling and screaming their excitement for _her_ win. Natsumi bit her lip to keep the flood of emotions from spilling out, tears pricked at the corners of her eyes but she refused to let them fall.

" _I know you're going to make a great Hero one day"_

"Yo, Natsu-chan, you coming?" Kaminari cocked his head, staring over his shoulder at her from the tunnel.

She nodded eagerly, taking one last look at the stands of people going wild, before jogging to catch up with her classmate.

* * *

"You we're amazing out there, Natsu-chan." Ochako grinned as the silver-haired teen made it back to her seat after her fight, slender fingers wrapped tightly around several yakitori skewers while she chewed thoughtfully on a piece of the flavored chicken.

"I never want to be on the receiving end of Kaminari-kun's quirk ever again." Natsumi groaned, swallowed her mouthful of food, "It fucking _hurt_."

The blond in question pouted from his seat behind her, leaning forward with a wince as he disturbed the bandages wrapped around his torso, "Hey, being stabbed by your ice was no walk in the park either, Natsu-chan."

She rolled her eyes, popping another piece of chicken into her mouth, "It was a superficial wound, stop being such a baby."

Absently, she cast a quick glance to the boy next to her. Wispy locks of ivory and crimson tousled by the breeze that floated by, he caught her staring and quirked a curious eyebrow at her. Natsumi offered him a lopsided smile, holding out a yakitori skewer to him and was momentarily surprised when he accepted her offer of the fair food without a word.

"I can't believe you're still hungry after all that junk you ate before your match." The bubbly brunette to her right giggled, watching her friend continue to chow down on her fair food.

"Hey, I worked up an appetite chasing after Kaminari-kun." She retaliated with a shrug, pulling her attention away from the boy beside her and focusing on the brunette to her left.

The next match was announced and Class 1-A leaned forward to watch the fight between Kirishima and the boy from 1-B who had a similar Quirk. The fight itself was long and drawn out, both boys matching each other in strength and resilience until the very end when they overworked themselves, passing out in unison. The match was called a draw and both boys were rushed off the field, Present Mic promised a tie breaker when the boys recovered enough from their injuries.

From the corner of her eye Natsumi noticed the brunette beside her fidgeting in her seat, fingers nervously curling around the hem of her gym shirt.

"Don't be nervous, you're stronger than you think." The corners of her lips tipped into a smile, attempting to encourage her friend.

Ochako jumped a little, glancing over at the crimson eyed teen before biting her lip, "Ah, I know it's just…everyone's watching and—"

"Fuck 'em. Don't pay any attention to the crowd or the cameras. Just focus on kicking his ass."

Ochako let out a breathy laugh, nodding her head and clenching her fists, "You're right." She stood from her seat, "I'm going to prepare."

"I'll be rootin' for ya." Natsumi grinned.

"You know," Todoroki started, startling her out of her thoughts and bringing her full undivided attention to him as he spoke, "I wouldn't have thought to create an igloo as protection against Kaminari's lightning. That was a good idea."

The praise from him was unexpected and she found herself staring at him in surprise, lips parted in shock. Todoroki noticed her incredulous expression and tilted his head slightly, lips tipped at the corners into a small smile.

"Ah, thanks, Todoroki." She quickly recovered, hoping the warmth she felt spring to her cheeks wasn't indicative of how red they must've been from his comment, "It was a split second decision for sure, but, I'm glad that I did because I don't know how many direct attacks I would've been able to realistically take from him."

He nodded, humming in thought, "That attack looked painful, you looked ready to collapse then and there."

She shot him a wry grin, "I've endured worse."

Heterochromatic eyes widened slightly at her admission and he felt his lips tug into a familiar frown as he was reminded of her upbringing. Realistically, she probably endured just as rigorous of a training regimen as he did, it was something he tried not to think of often but…sometimes when he looked at her trying to hide the sadness in her eyes by plastering on a fake smile he was reminded that they probably weren't quite so different.

Unaware of his unwavering, concerned stare Natsumi faced forward to catch the start of the next match. Her eyes glazed over despite her original plan to actually pay attention, instead, she found herself revisiting memories of training with her parents—anguished cries, hunger pains, throbbing bruises and bloody cuts all invaded her thoughts and she involuntarily grimaced at the remembrance.

Todoroki continued to watch her, brows furrowed in deep thought as he caught the subtle changes in her expression—lips twitching into a small frown, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth anxiously, fingers fidgeting in her lap, a wince as if she was experiencing some sort of phantom pain. His hand rose from his lap and he gently placed his palm against her shoulder, the action pulled her from her thoughts and she jumped in her seat, startled.

"Are you okay?" He asked, frowning at her jumpy reaction.

Her crimson stare slid to land on the hand resting against her shoulder before rising to meet his concerned gaze. She plastered on an unconvincing smile, "Yeah, sorry. Just lost in my thoughts, don't worry about me."

He wasn't convinced, but was unsure of what to say in response to her dismissive statement. Todoroki removed his hand from her shoulder and faced forward, watching her from his peripherals.

The next battle was between Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu. The girl with the creation quirk was at a disadvantage in terms of speed, the boy and Dark Shadow were just too quick for her and had been able to push her out of bounds rather quickly in the time it was taking her to create a weapon for herself. The battle was over almost before it had even begun which meant…the battle between Bakugou and Ochako would be starting shortly.

Natsumi was simultaneously excited and worried about the fight about to start. She knew that Ochako was strong and intelligent enough to form her own battle strategies but…Bakugou was a powerhouse and would stop at absolutely nothing until he had his way and was number one. She knew that her bubbly friend had been anxious about the battle, Natsumi just hoped that during her preparation time that she had overcome her nerves and was ready to take on the explosive blond seriously.

The fight itself was…hard to watch. Not just for her, but for everyone it seemed. Even Pro Heroes in the crowd were voicing their displeasure towards the fight, stating that Bakugou was being too rough. The insinuation that Ochako was some frail little girl didn't sit well with Natsumi and made her feel uneasy, she knew how determined her friend was, how badly she wanted to be here and to win. How dare these strangers undermine her when she was giving her all?!

" _Should they really be allowing this fight to go on?"  
"He's going to hurt her!"  
"He's an absolute monster, stop this now!"_

"You're shaking." Todoroki stated, tearing his eyes away from the intense battle below to stare at her trembling fists in her lap.

"Don't you hear what they're saying about them?" She quietly seethed through clenched teeth.

He tilted his head curiously at her, "That's why you're angry?"

"They're both giving it their all down there and all these assholes can think about is how Bakugou is taking it too far—because she's a girl he should go easy on her, throw the match because it's the gentlemanly thing to do. It's fucking sexist. I have half a mind to freeze those assholes to their seats."

Todoroki chuckled at the last part, lips quirking into a smirk, "I don't think starting a fight with an entire section of pro-heroes would be the wisest decision you've ever made."

She glanced his way, snorting at his sassy comment, "Yeah, but it'd be worth it if it taught them not to underestimate a girl."

Moments later the stern voice of Aizawa-sensei echoed across the stadium, cutting out the words that Present Mic had been announcing over the crackling feedback from the microphone.

" _Are you really a hero? How long have you been one? You should be ashamed of yourself. Bakugou is giving it his all and fighting without restraint because he recognizes her as a strong opponent and is taking this fight seriously. Anyone who disagrees with that and thinks he should go easy on her because of her gender should quit being a Hero."_

Aizawa's words seemed to settle over the crowd, the pro heroes who had been voicing their concern over the battle sat back down, eyes downcast and feeling uncomfortable after being called out. But he wasn't wrong for saying what he had said and it made Natsumi feel proud to call the Erasure Hero her teacher.

The fight progressed, Ochako was visibly slowing down with each hit she took and it was easy to see that she was quickly reaching her limit and wouldn't last much longer. In a last-ditch effort to turn the battle around, she let loose a large-scale meteor attack, hundreds of various sized debris from Bakugou's previously destructive attacks floated in the air around her before crashing towards him.

He was prepared for the attack though.

He was always one step ahead, that's what made him a surprisingly good strategist.

The blond let loose a powerful explosion that knocked her off her feet. She attempted to crawl towards him, unable to come to terms with the fact that it was over for her and her determination seemed to startle the boy. A moment later he was declared the winner when Ochako fully collapsed, succumbing to her injuries and the exhaustion she felt from giving her all.

"That was…" Kirishima started, eyes wide as he processed what he had just seen.

"…so intense." Kaminari breathed out.

"She was incredible." Natsumi's grin slipped into a frown as she watched as the Recovery Bots took her friend away. She would have to go visit her in the infirmary later, but now that Round One was over she knew that she'd have to start preparing for her next battle.

* * *

Midnight projected the next round of combatants up on the screen for all the world to see and Natsumi visibly paled at the name of her opponent. She rolled her bottom lip in between her teeth, a nervous habit of hers, crimson eyes never leaving the name beside her's in the last spot on the teleprompter. Her fight would be the very last one of the round.

Silently, she glanced over across the faces of her classmates before her eyes locked with that of narrowed carmine. Bakugou smirked at her, bringing his thumb up to his neck and swiping across it in a silent threat to kill her during their match. She had no doubt in her mind that he absolutely would go all out, just like he did with Ochako.

 _It's been a long time coming, I should've expected this._ After all of their verbal assaults on each other, constantly threatening to beat the shit out of each other over the tiniest of disagreements, it all came down to this. They would finally see who the stronger of the two was.

 _I can't let him best me. I have to fuck him up no matter what._ She quietly declared to herself, eyes never leaving Bakugou's as they stared each other down. He seemed eager, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his side with the promise of a good fight, sparks sizzling and popping along his fingertips as he held her gaze.

"I know if anyone can take him down, it's you Natsu-chan." Kirishima sidled up beside her on the field, his shoulder gently brushing against her's as his lips pulled back into a toothy grin.

The sudden appearance of the red-head tore her away from her staring match with the ash blond, she tilted her chin and offered him a small smile, "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm looking forward to putting that hothead in his place."

Kirishima let out a hearty laugh at her enthusiasm, bringing his hand up and clapping her on the back, "Your passion is so manly! I can't wait to watch your match; I'll definitely be rooting for you."

The students made their way back to their stadium seats, the first match would be Todoroki against Midoriya and it was sure to be an intense battle. She could tell that the dual-color haired boy was still reeling from his talk with his father earlier, even if he was adept at hiding his emotions.

As she shuffled through the tunnel, on her way towards the stairwell to go back to Class 1-A's observation box she passed by Midoriya as he nervously stood further inside, muttering to himself.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun." She offered a small wave, chuckling as her words startled him out of his silent ramblings to himself and he jumped, glancing up at her through his wild, mossy bangs.

"Oh, uh, Natsu-chan. What're you doing here?" He seemed eager for a distraction, jogging up to her with a warm smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you to break a leg out there." Suddenly, realizing what she had said and _who_ she had said it too she quickly corrected herself, "I mean— _good luck_! Try _not_ to break your leg, or your arms, or any other bones for that matter please."

The boy regarded her for a moment before bursting out into a fit of laughter at her flustered state, stuttering through his laughter, "Ah, t-thanks, I'll make sure to do my best. But to be completely honest with you, it's Todoroki I'm worried about. I mean, I know that he's extremely capable and has amazing control over his Quirk but…he's been holding back and even if I can barely compete with his power I want him to fight with everything he's got, he owes it to himself, you know?"

He was rambling again. But it came from a good place, Midoriya was such a kind-hearted and considerate guy that it was hard not to gravitate towards him and his positive energy. Natsumi found herself smiling warmly at him as he started to mutter to himself again.

She hummed contemplatively before taking a step forward, "I don't know how many times we have to remind him that he's not his father, but I think between the two of us we can knock some sense into him eventually and drill into his thick skull that it's _his_ power, and his alone."

He ran a hand through his unruly curls absentmindedly before meeting her gaze with a determined, unwavering one of his own, "You're right. If I have to beat it into him I will, I know deep down he's a good guy and he's been through so much. I just want him to realize his true potential and he can't do that if it's limiting himself to only using half of his Quirk."

Natsumi nodded, "Well, I believe in you. If anyone can get the point across to him it's you, Midoriya-kun."

His lips pulled back into a grin and she was momentarily blinded by the bright sincerity of the gesture, "Thanks Natsu-chan, I won't let you down."

She quickly pulled herself together, nodding towards him with a grin of her own, "I know you won't." Before waving goodbye to him and ascending the stairs to take her seat amongst her classmates, now even more eager than ever to watch the next battle.

* * *

The first match was between Midoriya and Todoroki. The smaller boy had been studying the half-and-half boy for weeks, well he had been studying all of his classmates, but he was especially impressed with the level of control that Todoroki had over his ice and was eager to see him use his flames as well. Even if, logistically speaking, it wasn't ideal for Midoriya to witness such strength directed at him when he himself could barely manage his own power in a battle.

But he was determined to draw out Todoroki's full power and show him that he shouldn't be afraid to use his Quirk. The only problem was that the dual-color haired boy was incredibly stubborn and steadfast in his resolve to limit himself to only using his ice.

Midoriya flicked his finger and a large gust of wind picked up, blowing Todoroki back several feet before he erected a wall of ice behind him to steady himself. From across the field he could see that the mossy haired boy's finger was already bruised and swelling, a clear sign that he had broken it.

"I told that boy not to break any damn bones today." Natsumi groaned, disappointment lacing her tone, "And what does he do?"

"Looks like he broke his finger." Kaminari supplied, not realizing that it had been a rhetorical question.

Natsumi shot him a look before repeating, " _He breaks his damn finger_."

The two boys went back and forth, blurs of motion to the crowds watching above as Midoriya broke yet _another_ finger, to Natsumi's dismay, as he sent another strong gust of wind barreling towards Todoroki. The dual color haired boy blocked with a wall of ice before pushing forward and sending a blast of icy spikes towards the mossy haired boy. Midoriya reeled back his fist, shattering the tsunami of ice careening towards him, a shocked expression crossed Todoroki's face at the action.

The force of the strike sent Todoroki sliding back towards the boundary line, at the last moment he threw up a barrier of ice against his back to prevent himself from falling out of bounds.

" _He's on the same level as a pro!"  
"As expected of the son of Endeavor!"_

Bits and pieces of the conversations happening around them floated towards her and she immediately narrowed her eyes. Her mood soured by the inconsiderate comments of the crowd. She hated how easy it was for strangers to speak their judgmental thoughts and opinions—Todoroki was his own person, he was strong as fuck but that was all due to his own hard work, the fact that his father was a pro hero had nothing to do with it.

 _I'm sure Endeavor worked Todoroki to the bone growing up but…regardless of what that boy was put through by his father this strength, this power is all his._ She let out a growl without realizing it, clenching her fists angrily against her lap.

"Oi, what's got you so worked up, snowflake?" Bakugou narrowed his eyes, peering over at her.

She snapped out of her thoughts, glancing over at the ash blond, "The spectators are pissing me off with their fucking unwanted opinions and comments."

He furrowed his brows and clicked his tongue, "Don't listen to what those fucking extras have to say."

Natsumi was momentarily surprised by his comment before nodding slowly and turning her attention back to the fight.

"Is…it just me or is Todoroki slowing down?" Kirishima questioned curiously, peering down at the two panting boys.

His observation was accurate though, Todoroki's movements seemed much slower than they were previously. Natsumi squinted her eyes against the glare of the sun, noticing a familiar sparkle to his skin as she realized with a start that his arms were slowly being enveloped in a thin sheen of rime.

 _So he does have a limit with his ice, after all_. She mused, recalling a time when he had lied and told her that his Quirk had no drawbacks.

Midoriya must've noticed it too, for he stopped his self-destructive advances on his opponent, panting from the exertion of his attacks and the pain he was feeling in his fingers and arm from shattering his bones.

"You're trembling, Todoroki-kun." Midoriya all but growled, his voice gravelly and strained as he fought against the pain in his broken limbs, eyes shadowed by his sweat-drenched mossy hued bangs, "Quirks are physical abilities, too. There's a limit to how much cold your body can handle, isn't there? But isn't that a problem you could easily solve by using the heat from your left side?"

Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the accusation, no matter how truthful it was, he refused to give in and play the part that his old man wanted him to—he was no pawn. He vowed to win the Sports Festival and become the Number One hero by only using the Quirk gifted to him by his mother.

Midoriya locked eyes with his opponent, his voice becoming louder as he slowly gained the confidence he needed to say what he needed to say. His eyes briefly shot up towards the crowded stands, finding 1-A's section and a familiar head of curly ivory before his attention shot back to Todoroki, "Everyone's fighting with everything they've got; to win and get closer to their dreams, to become number one…and you want to win with just _half_ of your strength?!"

His words cut deep; he could tell by the startled look on Todoroki's face as the words the smaller boy spoke settled over him. Midoriya slowly flexed his damaged fingers before clenching them into a determined fist, "You know, you haven't put a single scratch on me! So, come at me with everything you've got!"

The dual-colored haired boy narrowed his eyes accusatorily, lips pulled back into a sneer, "Give it all I've got? What, did my old man pay you off or something? Well, now I'm pissed off!" He growled, crouching low and darting towards Midoriya, hands poised to attack.

As Todoroki neared him, readying his attack Midoriya crouched low into a defensive position, quietly building his power up and focusing it on his good hand. At the last minute he reeled back his fist, striking his opponent in the stomach right as the ice from Todoroki's right hand grazed Midoriya's bruised flesh.

The dual quirk wielder was thrown back by the force of the punch, skidding across the arena floor unceremoniously. Midoriya let out a pained cry, he was running out of options now that his left arm was broken and encased in ice and the fingers on his right hand were now broken from the strength of his Quirk.

"Fucking Deku won't last much longer." Bakugou smirked, eager to see the boy lose the match

 _He's right though…_ Natsumi thought with a frown, _there's no way Midoriya can pull a win out of this. He's got no more fingers left…_

Below, she could physically see each breath Todoroki took as it plumed out in an icy cloud with each exhale. He was losing his temper the more Midoriya spoke and the longer the battle between them progressed. His movements were slow and sloppy, the cold was becoming too much for him but he was stubborn and refused to give up. He _had_ to win.

A glacier of ice shot towards the broken boy, who was able to easily dodge the attack at the slowed pace that it had shot out towards him in.

Both boys were coming to their limits. Yet still, they continued to dance around each other, throwing punches, bouncing back to avoid being struck before running back towards their opponent. Each time Midoriya got close enough, ready to flick his last remaining unbroken finger Todoroki would push him back with a wall of ice.

More words were exchanged between the two boys that were lost to the crowd through the deafening cheers of encouragement ringing though the stadium. Todoroki seemed stunned by whatever the other boy must have said, he stood frozen to his spot as Midoriya dashed forward, landing a punch to his stomach and effectively pulling him out of his stupor. Before the taller boy had a chance to retaliate, the mossy haired teen was back on him with another punch to the abdomen.

They fought for another couple of minutes, Midoriya shouting through clenched teeth and pulled back fists. Natsumi and the rest of their class weren't able to hear the words but whatever they were…must've gotten through to Todoroki…

Moments later, the boy's left side burst into a torrent of flames that flew high into the sky, completely destroying half of Todoroki's gym uniform in the process. A hush fell over the stadium as the spectators watched in awe.

Natsumi clenched her fists in her lap, her lips pulling back into a wide grin, "Way to go, Todoroki! Use your full power, bring it home!"

Todoroki glanced back over his shoulder briefly, meeting her gaze before turning back to his opponent, a determined look overtaking his serious expression.

From across the stadium the shouts of Endeavor could be heard, smug as ever as he praised his son for finally using the quirk that he had bestowed upon him. It made Natsumi's blood boil and she was sure that it was affecting Todoroki in a negative way, just hearing his father's voice calling out to him…

Midoriya was breathing hard, shallow breaths and very much aware that this would be his last stand. His lips tugged into a grin at the display, he was proud of his classmate for finally accepting his full power. He leaned forward, flexing his broken fingers and powering up his next, and final, attack.

The flames billowed around Todoroki's body, he stepped forward with his right leg, creating a tidal wave of ice the surged towards Midoriya. The smaller boy flew forward, running against the side of the glacier meant to trap him, rushing towards Todoroki as he also darted forward with the intent to end the battle.

As the two boys were about to clash one last time a wall of cement intercepted their attacks. Clouds of smoke, ash, and ice washed over the entire stadium, making visibility next to nonexistent. A harsh, stifling wind blew through the stands from the impact, blowing everyone's hair back and threatening to uproot them from their seats from the sheer force of it.

Natsumi's fingers clutched her arm rest so tightly that he knuckles turned white. She could hear the screams of Mineta as he clung to the back of one of the seats, his body wavering against the wind.

"Oh shit, who won?"

"What just happened?"

"They stopped the fight before it could get even more out of hand!"

It took several minutes for the dust to settle but when it did Midoriya stood amongst the smoke, head bowed, body swaying back and forth dangerously before, finally, he collapsed. Todoroki watched from across the field, an almost incredulous look painted on his face, conflicted emotions assaulting him from his win. Midoriya had basically forfeited his chance at victory so that he could help him, he was far too kind for his own good.

 _Even after everything I said and did to him. He still went out of his way to help me_. Todoroki's lips twitched into a small smile.

" _Todoroki Shouto wins!"_

* * *

The next battle was between Iida and Shiozaki, it was an interesting fight but she was no match for the class rep's speed and soon she was all tangled in her own vines after he had zoomed around her as she tried to capture him. He was declared the winner as she was unable to continue.

That meant there was only one fight left before it was her turn once again. Her eyes shifted towards Bakugou who seemed to be impatiently tapping his foot against the seat in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. He was eager to get to their fight too.

She chewed her bottom lip nervously. Natsumi wasn't afraid of him, but they had never actually fought against each other aside from their impromptu wrestling match in her apartment all those weeks ago. But that didn't count. This was the real deal, an actual fight with Quirks, no pulling punches here. Bakugou was determined to be the indisputable winner and he would stop at nothing to reach the top which meant that she needed to give her all because he wasn't going to go easy on her.

Running a hand through her curly ivory locks, Natsumi pulled herself out of her seat and left quietly as Kirishima and Tokoyami's battle began below. She wasn't sure how long the fight would last, but she hoped it was long enough for her to calm her nerves before having to go out and face the explosive blond.

"Getting ready for your match?"

She glanced over her shoulder, Todoroki stood several feet away from her in the darkened tunnel. She hadn't seen him since his battle and had wondered where he had gone off to after his fight, she assumed that he must've gone to Recovery Girl because he was now wearing a new gym uniform.

Natsumi frowned a little, confusion coursed through her when she realized that she was a little disappointed that he had gotten himself a new change of clothes. Shaking her head, she plastered on a teasing smirk, "Ah, we gotta stop meeting like this. What would people think?"

He tilted his head, "Well maybe it's fate that we keep meeting before our matches."

She let out a small laugh, "Perhaps. Well, I gave you advice for your match so, lay it on me."

Todoroki chuckled, his eyes softening, "Do you really need advice on how to beat Bakugou?"

A small, contemplative hum escaped her as she thought his words over for a moment, her shoulders rising and falling in a light shrug, "I know he won't pull any punches just because I'm a girl, not that I'd want him to. I guess I'm…" She hesitated, biting her lip.

"What is it?"

A sheepish laugh ghosted over her parted lips, "I guess I'm feeling a little nervous. He's such an arrogant hothead and I wouldn't be surprised if he actually tried to kill me out there."

"I don't think he'd go that far. But," He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, "I guess that just means you have to be just as aggressive. Don't give him any openings, you're fast and have impressive control over your Quirk. Just stay level-headed out there, don't let him get under your skin like he normally does and you won't have any problem kicking his ass."

Startled crimson met encouraging heterochromatic, she felt a wave of appreciation wash over her as his words settled over her like a security blanket. Natsumi nodded her head slowly, lips twitching into a smile, "Thanks, Todoroki."

"Of course." His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer before he forced himself to tear his attention away from her, lifting a hand in goodbye as he started in the direction of their viewing box, "I'll be rooting for you, Kurosawa."

* * *

Tokoyami took the victory in his battle against Kirishima, signaling the beginning of Natsumi's battle against Bakugou. A knot had formed in the pit of her stomach at the thought but after her encounter with Todoroki she as feeling less anxious.

" _Welcome back everyone! Here we've got Class 1-A's resident hothead, Bakugou Katsuki against, equally as ill-tempered but she'll beat you with a smile on her face, Kurosawa Natsumi!"_

Natsumi frowned, _What is with Yamada-sensei's introductions today?_

Drawing in a deep breath, she entered the arena, squinting her eyes against the bright rays of the sun after having been in the darkened tunnel for the entirety of the last match. It took a few moments for her vision to adjust, but when it did her crimson gaze landed on the eager boy across the field from her, his lips curling back over his canines in an animalistic smirk.

"Ready to fucking die, princess?" He taunted, fingers curling at his sides, he could feel the sweat begin to form in his palms from the heat of the sun baring down on him. His Quirk was already advantageous over hers; he knew this victory was as good as his.

"You wish, _Baka_ gou." She smirked, reveling in the way her nickname for him made his eye twitch in irritation.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy beating the shit out of you." Bakugou growled, clearly annoyed by the use of her stupid nickname for him. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had been looking forward to finally getting to fight her in a real match. They always argued, teased, and provoked each other with the threat of violence but it was just that, an empty threat. Now was finally the time they could find out who was the better one between the two of them.

He had no doubts that he could kick her ass, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited to see what she could do in an all out fight against his explosions.

She rolled her eyes, "What a gentleman."

Midnight eyed the two teens momentarily before announcing, "Round, start!" Before booking it back to a safe distance, and without a moment to spare as the blond let loose a round of fiery explosions aimed at the curly haired girl.

Natsumi knew he'd rush right into an attack, using her ice to skate away from the incoming explosion, the force of the blast propelled her forward, but she tucked into a roll and was able to get away before being hit. Whirling around, she let out a squeak of surprise as Bakugou was _right there_ behind her with his palm aimed at her face. Quickly, she ducked beneath his outstretched arm and darted to a safe enough distance where she could hurl a massive wave of ice towards him.

"You can run, but you can't hide, princess." He sneered, blasting his way through the ice that shot towards him. Sparkling shards of frozen dust coated the arena floor from the blast, making the battle field look like a snowstorm had just hit after everything settled around them.

She scoffed, "Who said anything about hiding?"

As Bakugou flew across the field towards her, riding the explosive hot air of his Quirk, she readied herself. She let out a breath that plumed past her lips in a tiny cloud of frozen moisture, fingers outstretched at her sides in anticipation. She waited until he was mere feet away from her before ducking under his wide swing, pulling back her rime covered fist and letting it collide with his abdomen.

The blond flew back a couple of feet but quickly steadied himself, she wasn't as physically strong as he was and while her strike had caught him off guard it didn't do much damage. He'd probably have a bruise tomorrow, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"I guarantee that'll be the last time you land a hit, snowflake."

She cocked her head to the side, lips curling into a competitive smirk, "Care to bet on it?"

Bakugou grunted, raising an eyebrow at her suggestion, "I ain't bringing you any more lunches."

" _What's going on here, dear listeners? They're just standing there, what happened to all the action from moments before?"_ Present Mic's voice flitted over them, his own confusion mimicking that of the crowd's.

Natsumi pouted, "Aw, but you know exactly what I like!" She shook her head with a grin, "That's fine, I was going to say that if I land another hit on you then you have to take me to the arcade for the _entire_ day and pay for all of my games."

He scrunched up his face in contemplation, weighing her words and the proposition very carefully. Bakugou would need to keep her at a distance if he wanted to win this bet, he knew how fast she was. Finally, his lips pulled back over his canines in a feral grin and he spat, "There's _no_ fucking way _I'm_ going to be the one paying, so you better make sure you have the cash to cough up, princess."

She let out a loud bark of laughter at his response, "Haha, okay deal. But I'm tellin' ya I'm not backing down from this."

"Neither am I."

The two flew at each other again, meeting in the middle of the arena where his explosives collided against her wall of ice once more, spraying the crowd with a cold mist from the impact. They danced around each other, the ash blond using his Quirk to keep her at a distance, while she tried her hardest to rush around the fiery explosives to land a hit. They went at this for several minutes, neither of them giving in despite the fact that they weren't getting anywhere.

Natsumi let out a frustrated breath, eyes set in a determined glare. She knew it wouldn't be easy landing another hit on him, his Quirk was great for keeping people at bay, but she had hoped that with her agility she would have been able to breeze by and land another punch. Not only did she want to win to prove to everyone she could do it, she also wanted to win now because she really wanted to piss him off by making him pay for her at the arcade.

"Giving up already?" He grunted.

"Not a chance." She laughed, using the back of her hand to wipe off the sheen of sweat that had begun to form on her forehead.

She pulled both of her hands back, raising her palms up and facing them outwards towards him as a torrent of icy projectiles shot across the field at him simultaneously as a surge of ice rushed across the arena floor in his direction. Natsumi kept her palms facing him as she ran forward, frozen missiles continuing to assault him.

Bakugou let out an annoyed growl, using his explosions to melt the majority of the ice being whipped in his direction, but it wasn't enough to block all of the projectiles. He seethed as several of them pierced through his defenses, embedding themselves into his abdomen and upper thigh. His fingers dropped to the frozen weapons, wrapping around the ice and yanking them out with a pained groan.

Natsumi had taken advantage of his moment of distraction, as brief as it was, appearing out of thin air in front of him, her fist pulled back. She had become intangible during her large scale attack and easily slipped in amongst her ice.

The blond stumbled back a couple of paces, his eyes widening a fraction while he processed what had just happened.

"I go for the expensive games so make sure you bring enough money for that, _Kacchan_." She smirked as she retracted her fist after landing a hit to his right shoulder.

"You're going to fucking pay for that, ice bitch." His teeth gnashed together.

"No, no. _You're_ going to pay because I just hit you." She corrected teasingly.

"Time to die, you fucking extra." He growled, swinging his fist towards her face. She dodged easily but was caught by surprise when his other fist swung around and nailed her right in the stomach.

Natsumi sputtered out a cough, flying back several feet from the force of the impact, landing roughly against the arena floor which successfully knocked the wind from her. She coughed again, pulling herself to her feet only to be knocked back down by another punch, her eyes narrowed up at the boy standing over her with his palms both facing down towards her. Sparks sizzled and crackled along his fingertips as he readied another explosion, intent on ending the battle now that he was pissed off for having lost their bet so quickly.

She slammed her palms against the ground and somersaulted out of the way as a gargantuan spike of ice shot at Bakugou right as his explosion went off, he shifted his weight just enough to avoid being impaled.

Natsumi let out a battle cry as she used her ice to propel herself towards him at such a speed that it was almost lost to him, daggers of ice clutched tightly in both of her hands. She brought both arms down in a wide-arc, plunging the frozen weapons into the soft flesh right below his shoulder blades before kicking off of his chest and flipping in the air, landing a short ways away from him.

Bakugou let out a noise that was in-between a pained cry and an angry growl, carmine eyes narrowing on the two large shards of ice imbedded just below both of his shoulders. His gaze slowly traveled down to his thigh and abdomen where he felt the sting of his wounds from her previous attack, his uniform clinging to his body from a mix of sweat and sticky blood.

" _How brutal, she really is the kid of a villain, isn't she?"  
"She's scary, should they really be allowing her to compete?"  
"They should stop the match before she kills him!"_

The ivory haired teen faltered before her next attack, her arms dropped to her sides as voices floated towards her from the crowded stands. She pursed her lips and knitted her brows together, had she really gone too far with her last attack? Crimson eyes flickered towards the ash blond, darting across the wounds she had inflicted and watching in horrified fascination as the blood from each seeped into the fabric of his uniform.

He caught her staring, noticing the conflicted way her eyes roamed over him and a burning rage seared through him at the thought of her pitying him for being injured by her attacks. She should feel proud that she had actually landed a hit on him, he was ordinarily invincible, completely unstoppable. He thrived off of the feeling of being superior to everyone, but he couldn't revel in that feeling if his opponent wasn't going all out in their attacks because then his inevitable victory would mean absolutely nothing to him. So why was she looking so distraught?

" _I can't believe they allowed a villain into the festival willingly!"  
"She can't be trusted!"_

His eyes narrowed, watching as she visibly flinched from the words being uttered by the useless extras sitting in the stands. What did they know? They weren't the ones competing, they didn't know him, they didn't know _her_. Their words meant absolutely nothing, but one glance in her direction told him that they meant everything to her.

A ferocious growl erupted from him, clenching his fists and locking eyes with startled crimson across the field, "The fuck are you doing listening to those fucking losers?! I thought you were here to prove something to yourself and show the world that you can be a Hero. All I see is a scared little girl who's too caught up in what outsiders think of her when she should be worrying about fixing how she thinks of herself. _Fucking pathetic_." His words were harsh but necessary, there was no way he was going to win this fight on a technicality if she forfeited, but he wouldn't tell her that, instead he continued in hopes of reigniting the fire within her, "If you've already given up then you might as well just fucking forfeit and quit wasting my goddamn time."

Natsumi watched him with cautious, disbelieving eyes, drinking in every word that he called out to her. His voice was rough and husky, eyes twitching in agitation, he could have easily beat her in her moment of weakness and won the fight but…he had chosen to shout words meant to encourage her, break her out of the spell she had fallen under. She bit her lip, letting out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. He was right. She had completely forgotten herself and her reasoning for being there in the first place all because of some harsh words. She glanced back towards the crowd, watching her, scrutinizing her, _judging_ her for who her parents had been.

" _You are aware that being a Hero with your past is going to make people judge you heavily before they get the chance to know you, your actions and any mistake you may make will be scrutinized more so than that of your peers. Are you prepared for this?"_

Nezu-sensei's words came rushing back to her and she bit back a bitter laugh.

 _Guess I got my answer, I wasn't ready but…_ She tore her gaze away from the strangers in the stadium stands and met the intense stare of Bakugou _, I am now, thanks to you_. A small smile pulled at her lips before slowly widening into a grin, "As if I'd just hand you the win, _dream on_ , hotshot."

He seemed pleased by her words, lips pulling back into an eager smirk, "It's about fucking time you took this seriously, princess."

* * *

An old-fashioned box television flashed images of the Sports Festival, the screen dusty and filled with various finger prints imbedded in the grime. Two identical bodies crowded around the television, while several others remained a disinterested distance away, nursing alcoholic drinks at the bar but still occasionally glancing in the direction of the television broadcasting the coverage of the event.

"Sounds like the civilians are painting a very accurate picture of her." Ryou mused.

"Mm, yeah. Maybe finally hearing the words spoken by strangers will pull her out of this silly delusion she has of becoming a hero." Hibiki hummed, eyes glued to the dirty screen, taking a casual sip of his tequila sunrise.

Both boys hadn't been very interested in the event until they caught sight of a familiar head of ivory curls as she progressed through the events with ease. They were torn between feeling proud of her for beating out so many hero hopefuls and feeling disgusted for her taking this whole thing so seriously in the first place.

But no one, not them, not their comrades, could deny that her strength, speed, and control of her Quirk was impressive. The twins had been around during her earlier years, knowing exactly the type of training she had endured that lead to such powerful control over her ice. But, even so, they could tell that since then she had become an even bigger force to be reckoned with.

"Patience, boys. Soon enough your little toy will be where she belongs." The smooth, silky voice of Kurogiri reminded them from his position behind the bar as he polished a glass.

Silver eyes glanced towards the warp gate, an impatient huff escaping Ryou as he turned back to the television, tone bitter, "This is taking too long. The more time she spends with them the more time they have to continue their brainwashing. We need to rescue her before she completely loses herself and forgets who she is."

Hibiki frowned, casting a worried glance in his brother's direction, "You…do you really think that would happen?"

"Who knows what lies they've been feeding her." Ryou whispered in a low growl that only his brother was privy of hearing.

The younger of the two knit his brows together before tilting his head, "It's nothing that can't be undone though, yeah? I mean, _she's ours_ , I'm sure after a bit of _persuading_ she'll come to her senses."

Ryou's narrowed silver gaze locked with his brother's, suddenly his lips curled back into a smirk, "You're right. We've always been her weakness; we just have to wait a little bit longer."

Hibiki grinned satisfactorily, nodding his head and turning back to the television to watch the remainder of Natsumi's fight, "Soon you'll be home with us, Mi-chan."

* * *

The two had been relentless in their attacks, neither of them willing to back down or let the other get a hit in edgewise. Their constant back and forth was beginning to weigh on them in the form of heavy breathing, sweat drenched uniforms, and trembling muscles.

Natsumi was pushed back by a swift kick to her abdomen, she let out a hoarse cough as she skidded across the field, righting herself just in time to bring up her arms and defend against a punch. She pushed back against his attack, but in a game of strength she was no match for the boy who spent countless hours in the gym building muscle. Their eyes locked, Bakugou leaned forward with a sneer, quickly overpowering her, causing her to step back under the weight of his body pressing against her.

She debated internally what her next move should be, using all the strength she had to push back against him before quickly making up her mind. Lips twitching into a smirk, she dropped low and swept out her leg, catching the boy off guard and causing him to stumble back. Taking her chance, she twisted her body and landed a roundhouse kick to his stomach. Bakugou let out a grunt, falling to the ground with a _thud_.

This was the opportunity that she needed and quickly leapt ontop of him, straddling his waist, fist reeled back before connecting with his cheek. Bakugou growled as his face was shoved to the side by the impact of her fist.

The crimson eyed teen went for another strike and gasped when his own hand shot up, catching her much smaller fist in his grasp. He was able to quickly overpower her, using his powerful leg muscles to flip their position so that he was now hovering over her, lips quirked in a devious, triumphant smirk. His left hand still clenched around her's tightly, holding it high above her head to prevent her from escaping him. The blond pulled back his right fist, bringing it down against her face, splitting her lip from the impact. He went in for another strike but found his fist colliding against the frozen ground beneath him, brows furrowed in confusion before he let out a frustrated growl, "That's cheating, ice bitch."

She easily slipped out from beneath him in her intangible state, silently cursing him as she brushed her fingers against her swollen lip, feeling the sting of the cut and the sticky blood between her fingers.

Natsumi reappeared, landed a kick to his shoulder that sent him stumbling backwards but not before his fingers shot out, grasping her leg and swinging her small body as if she weighed nothing at all. He released her, sending her flying through the air, careening towards the boundary line. Natsumi twisted her body at an uncomfortable angle, pulling up a wall of ice to prevent herself from flying out of bounds. Her body collided with the frozen barrier with a sickening crunch, all air leaving her lungs from the impact. She was no doctor but…from the uncomfortable, painful way her chest constricted and burned with each breath she was pretty sure that she may have cracked or broken a rib or two.

"Fuck." She groaned, pulling herself to her feet, suddenly feeling incredibly woozy as she swayed back and forth. If the metallic taste in her mouth was any indication of her condition…she wouldn't last much longer _, I need to find a way to finish this_.

Bakugou was on her once more in a matter of seconds, explosions crackling behind him as he used them to propel himself towards her. She erected another wall between the two of them, turning herself intangible, Natsumi ran across the field to put some distance between him.

"What the fuck did I say about hiding?!" He snarled, carmine eyes darting back and forth in a mad attempt to find some sort of clue as to where she was, footprints in the dirt, dust kicking up in her wake, something, _anything_. When he found none, he curled his fingers at his sides before bringing his palms out in front of himself, angling them towards the arena floor ahead of him. If he couldn't see her then he'd have to flush her out. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

He let loose a powerful series of explosions that ripped through the stadium flooring, heating the air around them exponentially and increasing his own sweat production. He leaned back on his heels, admiring the destruction he had created, slabs of earth jutting out of the ground while dust and small particles of debris billowed around him like a cloud. The detonation of his next attack demolished the remainder of the level playing field and as the dust settled and visibility became clear again his grin turned absolutely feral.

Natsumi's intangibility deactivated as the earth beneath her feet upturned from the sheer strength and force of the blond's attack. She stumbled back, tripping over a chunk of concrete. The field was absolute chaos, slabs of earth and concrete jutted out at all sorts of angles from the ground, mimicking a disaster zone more than a stadium. She struggled to find footing amongst the wreckage, Natsumi wouldn't be able to use her agility to her advantage anymore now that the field was no longer level.

"Thought you could hide from me?" A dark chuckle rumbled from deep within his chest, "Hide from _this_!"

He shot forward at the same time that she willed her ice to transport her across the disaster zone towards the fuming blond. As they neared each other, they both upturned their palms—a clash of explosive flames and ice meeting in a catastrophic blast that created a mushroom cloud of heat, debris, and moisture from the melting frozen shards.

"What happened?" Sero frowned, using his hand to shield his eyes from the cloud of dust blanketing the field and stands where they were sitting.

Todoroki frowned, leaning forward in his seat, eager to see the outcome of the clash below. He had watched the fight progress with bated breath, a seed of concern blooming for the reckless girl who seemed to derive some sort of enjoyment from antagonizing the class' resident hothead. He wanted her to win, not only because he wanted to fight against her, but also because the thought of Bakugou garnering another win unsettled him. That boy's attitude was exceedingly unpleasant, while he was strong in his own rights, Todoroki didn't think he deserved the victory.

"Oh, it's clearing up. I can _just_ make out the field…if I squint _real_ hard." Kaminari jolted in his seat as the cloud of dust and debris finally began to settle.

Todoroki held his breath, squinting down at the field. He could just make out a body standing amongst the wreckage but was unable to tell who it was.

It took another minute before visibility was completely clear again.

Both Bakugou and Natsumi stood on opposite sides of the arena, drawing in ragged breaths, sweat dripping down their temples.

The girl went to take a step towards her opponent when she met Bakugou's gaze, his expression hesitant, almost…worried? No, that didn't make sense. If she had to describe the face he was making at her she'd have to say it was… _horrified_. She tilted her head, screwing up her face in confusion. She followed his line of sight, dropping her gaze to her trembling body and gritting her teeth.

The adrenalin of the fight beginning to wear off and the immense pain setting in. A startled gasp escaped her. Imbedded deep within her side was a long piece of shrapnel that must have been kicked up during their final assault on each other, her shirt was torn in various places and blood was quickly soaking through the fabric from the wound. Natsumi had been so caught up in the fight that the white hot pain hadn't even registered until after the fact, once she was aware of her own injury it was as if a switch was flipped and all feelings came crashing down on her in an overwhelming wave of agony that had her crumpling to the ground.

Todoroki's eyes widened, his hands shot out and gripped the railing in front of him as he leaned over the edge as far as he possibly could without risking the fall, "Kurosawa!"

"Natsu-chan?!"

" _Kurosawa Natsumi is unable to continue, Bakugou Katsuki is the winner!"_

* * *

The final battles commenced after a short intermission while Cementoss fixed the battle field after the damage that had been done during Bakugou and Natsumi's fight. During that time her classmates all crowded around the doorway to the infirmary, straining their ears to hear what was happening beyond the closed door.

Recovery Girl had already shooed them away, "I need to work quickly to stabilize this young girl, I cannot afford to have any distractions." She had said in a firm voice before locking them out of the room.

One by one the crowd of teens dispersed after realizing that the door wasn't going to open to welcome them any time soon and, not wanting to miss the final battles, they returned to their seats. Todoroki lingered after everyone had left, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his gym uniform to hide his trembling fists.

He was hoping to catch a glimpse of her, that maybe Recovery Girl would open the door or someone would enter or leave and give him the chance to see her. Just to know that she was _alive_ and well, that she'd be _okay_. But as it were, the door remained shut and the time was ticking down to his own battle against Bakugou.

He expelled an angry huff from his nose, fingernails digging into his palms within the pockets of his pants as he turned around, feeling disappointment claw at him.

"No word on her condition?" A new voice pondered out loud in a lazy drawl.

Todoroki frowned, his hardened stare landing on the boy leaning against the wall across from him, his hair was a wild mess of lilac spikes and he regarded the half-n-half boy with tired, indigo eyes.

 _That's the kid from General Studies_.

"What're you doing here?" It came out much more harsh than Todoroki had originally intended, but he wasn't aware of any reason as to why this guy would be checking up on her, especially if they had only just met during the festival. Heterochromatic eyes narrowed at his own silent accusation.

Shinsou glanced up, curiously quirking a brow at the other boy's defensive tone, his lips pulled back into a vague smile, "Same reason as you, I suppose."

Todoroki decided that he didn't like this guy.

"Well, she's not taking visitors." He spat irritably, whether from his own feelings towards the lilac haired boy or from the fact that he didn't get his chance to see how she was doing, Todoroki was unsure, but the bitterness settled over him like a blanket regardless, "So you might as well turn around and watch the rest of the finals."

Shinsou hummed, dipping his chin towards his chest and closing his eyes as he settled in and made himself as comfortable as one could be up against a stone wall, "Think I'll just wait then, I'm not interested in seeing the results of the final battles anyway."

Todoroki bit back a growl, his chest clenching tightly and uncomfortably in irritation. He quickly reigned in his emotions and put on his usual mask of indifference, there was no way he'd allow this bizarre kid from General Studies know that he had gotten under his skin. He needed to prepare for his match anyway.

Casting one last glance towards the closed door of the Recovery Room, Todoroki turned on his heel and left, uttering an emotionless, "Whatever."

* * *

She awoke slowly, eyes blinking back the bleariness from being unconscious for so long, a small groan ghosted past her parted lips as she attempted to pull herself into a sitting position, only to let out a pained gasp at the sharp sting from her side. Natsumi drew in a shaky breath, settling back down against her much-to-fluffy pillow and the plain white sheets that wrapped around her, constricting her movements.

Tentatively, her fingers glided towards the edge of the covers, gripping the fabric and lifting until she was able to see the extent of the damage done to her abdomen. She let out a breath as she regarded the bandages wrapped tightly around her midsection and in that moment she realized that her gym uniform had been discarded and she was only wearing her black sports bra and a pair of loose shorts that didn't belong to her.

Bruises in varying shades of purple, green, and yellow littered her arms and legs all in different stages of the healing process.

 _Recovery Girl must've prioritized my ribs and side. Bruises and minor scratches can heal on their own._ She mused to herself, now realizing that breathing didn't have that familiar burn that made her choke from the pain like it had during her match. She could inhale and exhale without feeling like her lungs were going to pop like overinflated balloons in her chest.

"You're finally awake." The soft, motherly voice of Recovery Girl drifted towards her from the other side of the room as she busied herself with counting out pills on the counter, "You took quite the beating back there. Two cracked ribs, three broken ones—breathing must've been very difficult with those shards of bone poking and prodding into your lungs like that—I was able to correct the matter through a combination of my Quirk and a quick surgical procedure to remove any remaining bone fragments that would've caused you discomfort and issues later on. That wound in your side was another doozy, though not as worrisome as your broken ribs, I'd say. The shrapnel pierced through your left side and went right out the other side, luckily it missed any vital organs and blood vessels and I was able to remove the object with minimal damage to your body. You'll have a pretty sizeable scar there, but no long-lasting damage."

Natsumi listened to the older woman speak, absently tracing her fingers along the white bandages beneath the bedsheets. She couldn't say that she was surprised at the mention of having a broken rib, but she was disappointed in herself for allowing her body to take such a beating in the first place.

 _If only I had been a little faster, a little stronger…_

The older woman's smile was warm and bright as she finished counting out the medication and sliding the pills into a bottle, turning around to finally face the girl laying in the hospital bed behind her.

"I'm surprised you're awake already to be honest with you. You and the boy," She motioned towards the other occupied bed several feet away that Natsumi had yet to notice. Midoriya lay there covered in bandages, blankets pulled up to his chin as he rested, "both did a number on your bodies, it's almost like you were competing with each other to see who could come out of their fight with the most damage." She shook her head, her eyes sharpened, "You need to be more aware of your limits when in a battle, that can mean the difference between life and death. I know that this was a school function, but if it were the real deal there's a good chance that you wouldn't have made it back for me to heal you."

Natsumi bit her lip and hung her head in shame, still feeling the groggy after effects of sleep fueled by her body's exhaustion. Her gaze flickered over to Midoriya, sleeping soundly in his own hospital bed, she found herself smiling softly at him _. He's so selfless, sacrificing his own victory to help his classmate. He's going to make one hell of a Hero._

Recovery Girl shuffled over to her and checked her vitals writing down the data on her clipboard before pushing a small paper cup of several colorful pills into her hands.

"Take those, they're supplements to help your body regain its strength quicker."

Natsumi gratefully accepted the bottle of water that was handed to her next, throwing back her head and dumping the four pills onto her tongue, chasing the medication with a swig of water. She didn't realize just how thirsty she truly was until that first drop of liquid splashed down her throat and she found herself greedily gulping down the remainder of the bottle.

The older woman let out an amused chuckled before turning towards the door, "You can come in now." Before scurrying away to attend to other matters.

The door swung open slowly, cautiously, and a familiar head of unkempt lilac spikes peeked in. His indigo gaze landed on her and a small sigh of relief escaped him, he quickly shuffled inside and closed the door behind him.

"Shinsou? What're you doing here?" She frowned, eyeing him up and down in an attempt to see if he had been injured in some way and was there to seek medical attention.

He chuckled, fingers wrapping around the back of a metal folding chair and pulling it closer to her bed before plopping down in it, he crossed his arms over the back of the chair and straddled the seat. She eyed him and his strange way of sitting, backwards in the seat, before tilting her head in a cute and curious manner.

"Came to make sure that hothead didn't kill you." He shrugged, leaning over the back of the chair, his eyes gliding over the parts of her body that were exposed to him, assessing the extent of her injuries. His cheeks tinged a light shade of pink as he realized that she was just wearing her sports bra and quickly turned his eyes away from her.

He had seen the fight, watched her falter from the insensitive words spoken by the crowd and in that moment he felt the gap between them close—he knew what it was like, having heard _nothing but_ negative comments from his peers from the moment his Quirk manifested itself. But she had quickly snapped out of it and continued fighting with everything that she had and he _admired_ that.

And then the battle had come to a head and he watched, much like the rest of the stadium, with bated breath to see who the victor would be. Both teens were strong, forces to be reckoned with in their own rights, but he had been rooting for her the entire time. Natsumi, the girl who welcomed him to her team without even knowing his Quirk—and once she had, had sung nothing but praise over how useful and efficient it would be in the field of Heroics. No one, _not even his parents_ , had validated his dream of becoming a Hero like that.

Seeing her injured was another matter itself. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but in that quiet moment when the roar of the crowd dulled to low whispers, hushed voices speculating who would fall first, his heart clenched in his chest. His thoughts immediately thinking ' _that doesn't look good!_ ' at the object sticking through her stomach and bursting through the other side of her back.

When she had finally fallen, collapsing, he was gone in a flash from his seat, not even waiting to hear Present Mic's voice boom with the announcement of Bakugou's victory.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be disappointed to see that I'm still alive and kickin'." She placed her palms against the mattress and attempted to pull herself up into a sitting position, wincing in pain from the action, "Well, maybe not so much the kicking part, but I'm alive." She finished with a weak laugh at her own stupid joke, she had managed to pulled herself up against her pillow enough so that she was more level with her visitor instead of laying down looking up at him.

The corners of his lips pulled back into an amused smile, "I'm sure you'll be back to giving the rest of us hell in no time."

She let out a mock gasp of offense, placing a delicate hand over her heart as if his words wounded her, "How dare you imply that you haven't enjoyed our time together."

Shinsou rolled his eyes but there was no denying the subtle tug at the corners of his lips, it was a nice change for him…having someone to talk to.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He started, turning his eyes away from her to focus on fishing his phone out of his back pocket, nimble fingers unlocking the screen and scrolling through his photos before tapping on it and turning the screen towards her, lips pulled back into a teasing half-smirk, "What was this all about? I swear, I thought half the guys in the stands were going to pass out from the excitement."

She squinted her eyes at the phone, he was keeping it at a distance, and she realized quickly that it was because Shinsou didn't want her to snatch it from him to delete the photo he had taken. Her cheeks burned and she was sure that she must've been as red as a tomato. On his screen was a photo of her in that skimpy Yūei cheerleading outfit, the photo must've been taken the moment she had stepped out onto the field in it because she noticed that her expression wasn't seething with anger yet. In the photo her expression was apprehensive, hands placed on her hips with her pom-poms fanned out beneath her fingers. She noticed, right off the bat, that the photo focused solely on her, though she could see random appendages of her classmates in the background of the photo but the fact that Shinsou had taken a photo of just her brought on a wave of confusion.

Natsumi leaned forward as far as she could before the pain hit her at full force, stretching out her hand to grab at the phone but he was too quick, snatching the device away from her and holding it above her head. His lips curled back into a taunting grin, "Oh no you don't."

A frustrated groan escaped her, "Why do you even have that?"

Shinsou quickly pocketed his phone and leaned forward, ready to respond to her when the door to the Recovery Room slammed open and in stormed half of her class. The indigo eyed boy frowned, staring back and forth between her and her classmates before making the decision the leave and allow her to catch up with them. His raised his hand in a silent 'goodbye' and made for the exit, turning to watch as the horde of teens crowded around her bed all asking a hundred questions a second. His eyes lingered on Natsumi for a moment or two before he slipped out of the door, quietly shutting it behind him.

"How're you feeling?"  
"I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried!"  
"When are you allowed to leave?"

"That fight so was intense, I think my heart actually stopped when I saw you down there with that giant rock sticking out of you." Ashido cried, reaching forward and clinging to Natsumi's arm, the pink skinned teen's eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

"I thought Bakugou had killed you." Ochako choked on her words, biting her lip and staring down at her ivory haired friend. A series of nods all erupted from the rest of the group, all wordlessly telling her that they had thought the worst as well.

Natsumi faltered, taking in the sad faces of her friends crowded around her hospital bed, guilt began to claw its way through her chest. Her voice was quiet as she mumbled out, "I-I'm sorry for worrying all of you."

"Honestly, I think Bakugou also thought that he had killed you. He's been moping around ever since your fight, it also doesn't help that his fight with Todoroki pissed him off even more than he already was, if that's even possible." Sero laughed awkwardly at the end.

The crimson eyed girl tilted her head to the side curiously, perking up at the mention of the fight with Todoroki, "Why's that—did Todoroki win?"

"No, but he refused to use his flames and Bakugou totally had a meltdown over it, especially when he won. He kept screaming that he wouldn't accept it as a win because Todoroki hadn't been giving his all." Sero continued, rolling his eyes with a half-smile at the memory, "He looked like a child having the biggest temper tantrum, just stomping his feet and yelling."

"Oh! That reminds me, you missed the awards ceremony but I knew you'd get a kick out of this—" Ashido dug into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone, various cute little phone charms clinking against the back of the device as she pulled up a video and shoved it into Natsumi's hands.

Cold fingers wrapped around the back of the device before pressing the 'play' button, on the screen were Bakugou, Todoroki, and Tokoyami all standing up on the stage as All Might slowly went to each of them to bestow their medals for placing in the finals.

When All Might reached the furious blond Natsumi bit her lip, eyes watering at the sight of Bakugou restrained in something similar to a straight jacket and a basket muzzle. He was thrashing against his bindings, screaming out expletives, All Might awkwardly shoved the medal into Bakugou's mouth.

Natsumi lost it.

Peels of laughter escaped her and she quickly found herself struggling to breath, her chest clenching, but she could not stop laughing, "Holy sh-shit." She swiped her finger across the screen, rewinding the video back to see Bakugou thrashing against his restraints, "He looks l-like a r-rabid f-fucking dog. Oh my god, t-this is gold."

Her classmates were relieved that she was feeling okay enough to laugh like that and soon the entire room dissolved into fits of giggles as they replayed the video, all making comments about the explosive blond. It wasn't until Recovery Girl came back and ushered everyone out, scolding them for being so loud when Midoriya was still sleeping close by, that the room finally fell back into a pleasant silence.

Natsumi fell back against her pillow, exhausted, but happy to have had the chance to see her classmates before making the trip home. Aizawa-sensei had mentioned earlier, before the festival had commenced, that they would be rewarded with two days off after the Sports Festival and that sounded absolutely heavenly to her.

* * *

Ahhhh. Holy shit. This is literally the longest chapter I have ever written. It's just under 19k words. Hopefully the long chapter doesn't deter anyone from reading it, please please send in a review and let me know what you think because I worked really hard on this one! I'd love to hear from you guys. Seriously, reviews give me the motivation to sit down and write, knowing that there are people who are out there enjoying the content that I'm putting out.

But now you know why it took me sooo long to get this chapter out. It's a monster lol. I didn't want to split it up into 2 smaller chapters like I originally thought I was going to because I was so ready to end this and start the internship arc to be completely honest with you. And while I was writing this chapter and getting caught up on the manga I ended up coming up with a completely different idea as to who she was going to intern with. I already had the entire internship planned out for her and now I'm scrapping those ideas to go with this new one so I hope everything turns out okay haha.

Also, here on out, some things are going to be a little different from the manga/anime at this point in the school year.

Also, also! If you're interested, I've started posting stand alone oneshots of Natsumi and various characters on my BnHA/Writing blog (Right now I just have a NatsumixShinsou oneshot there but there will be more to come I promise!). I also posted a ton of fanart of her there as well—pictures of her in her new Hero Costume (which will debut next chapter), a picture of her in the dress she will wear on I-Island, and various other photos of her. SO if you're interested go check that out at **rynxenvy .tumblr** **.com** I'll also be posting sneak peeks of each chapter as I'm writing, as well as sneak peeks of any other BnHA story I start writing (I have two other stories that I'm slowly working on. An AizawaxOC story and a ShinsouxOC story because I have a problem lol!)

Thank you **bbymojo** for reviewing last chapter! I'm so happy that you're enjoying her budding friendship with Shinsou! He's honestly one of my favorite characters and I can't wait for him to become a more prominent character in the story as it progresses :P


	13. Chapter 13

She shuffled towards the door, the thick comforter from her bed wrapped around her tightly and trailing behind her like a cape, as another tentative knock rapped against the wood. It was the day after the Sports Festival and Natsumi was a mess both physically and mentally—mentally mainly due to the fact that she became really emotional when she was sick. And boy was she feeling the after effects of using her Quirks in conjunction with each other, that coupled with the injuries she sustained made for an incredibly pathetic looking girl.

Her body ached and trembled with a persistent fever that made her feel too hot _and_ too cold simultaneously, making it near impossible to get comfortable. At her discharge from the infirmary the night before Recovery Girl had told her that she would need to hold off on showering for a couple of days to prevent the nearly healed wound on her side from getting too moist and becoming infected. Natsumi had washed her hair in the sink to rid it of the mud and grime from the Sports Festival, but the rest of her body still felt dirty despite her wiping herself with a warm wash cloth to at least give herself the illusion of being clean.

Cold, shaking fingers reached forward, wrapping around the doorknob before pulling it open, she leaned against the doorframe for support.

The boy on the other side stopped fidgeting with the package in his hands as the door opened, emerald eyes peeking up at her through messy bangs. His lips quickly pulled down into a frown, brows knitting together in concern.

"I had a feeling this would happen." Midoriya let out a sigh, stepping forward and placing the back of his hand against her forehead. He felt the heat radiating from her skin beneath his touch, his cheeks tinged pink when he suddenly heard the soft, appreciative hum she made as she leaned forward into his cool touch, "Are you okay?"

"Mm, yeah." She mumbled drowsily, blinking when he removed his hand from her forehead and guided her back inside with his free hand, silently mumbling a 'sorry for the intrusion' as he removed his shoes by the door.

"No offense, Natsu-chan, but you don't look so good." The boy frowned, "I'm sorry I—"

She raised a hand, silencing him, "Don't. I was already up, so you didn't wake me or anything."

He didn't seem all that convinced, but nodded nonetheless, accepting her answer. Midoriya lead her over to the couch in her living room, gently pushing the stubborn girl down so that she was sitting, smiling down at her apologetically. Quickly remembering the original reason for him stopping by, Midoriya pulled out the package that had been safely tucked under his arm, "Oh! I brought you some Okayu, I figured that it wasn't a good idea for you to be straining yourself when you're trying to get better so I wanted to make sure you had something to eat."

Natsumi bit her lip, staring up at him through glassy eyes before choking back a sob and managing to say, "You are too good for this world."

She hated being sick. She hated how sensitive it made her.

Startled by her reaction, Midoriya's face burned cherry-red from the comment, "A-ah, it's n-nothing N-Natsu-chan. Are you hungry? I'll, uh, go heat some up for you."

He left her on the couch, fingers curling around the package that held the tupperware full of homemade Okayu, before shuffling towards her small kitchen. He opened three cabinets before finally finding where she kept her pots, pouring some of the rice porridge from the container into it and placing it on the stove to heat up. While he was waiting, Midoriya opened her fridge to put away the leftovers, frowning at how empty the inside of it was. _When was the last time she went shopping?_

Shaking his head, Midoriya decided that he'd ask her later if she needed him to run to the store down the street and get her anything. He didn't want her to strain herself or leave her apartment when she should be resting anyway, that would only make her illness last longer and she needed her strength to return to her before having to go back to school.

The boy began searching her cabinets, intent on finding something bland to go along with the Okayu. He let out a small, frustrated, huff when he realized that her cabinets were just are barren as her fridge had been but he was able to find what he was looking for—a sleeve of crackers. Standing on his tip-toes, Midoriya leaned up to grab the plastic packaging off of the high shelf that it rested. _I bet she didn't even know this was up there considering her inability to reach that high_. He quietly chuckled to himself.

With the rice porridge warmed to a suitable temperature, Midoriya pulled a bowl from the cabinet above the stove and tilted the pot over it, allowing the comfort food to slosh out and plop into the bowl. Holding the bowl in one hand, then snatching up the sleeve of crackers with his other one, he shuffled out of the kitchen and into the living room with a bright smile, "Natsu-chan I have your—"

He faltered, his grin dropping into a soft smile as he regarded her fast asleep while still sitting up against the back of the couch, her comforter slipping off of her. Midoriya set the porridge and crackers down onto the coffee table in front of the couch, moving to stand directly in front of his friend. Biting his lip, he contemplated his options. He could just leave and go home, she needed her rest anyway and he didn't want to intrude any further but, as he turned to leave he frowned. He couldn't just leave her sleeping in such an uncomfortable position like that! He was sure she was already sore from her illness and overworking herself the day before at the festival, she definitely didn't need anymore aches and pains from sleeping while in such an awful position.

With his mind made up, Midoriya gently placed a hand on her shoulder and the other on the back of her neck so he could guide her body, laying her down properly against the couch cushions. His eyes widened a fraction when he caught sight of goosebumps prickling at her visible flesh, a moment later her body was wracked with shivers brought on by her high fever. His fingers curled around the edges of her blanket, tugging it up and around her shoulders so that she'd stay nice and warm during her nap. Tentatively, he reached forward to check her temperature once more with the back of his hand, she still felt warm but not as burning hot as she had when he had first arrived.

 _Good. Hopefully her fever breaks soon._

He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth in contemplation, watching her take in slow breaths, occasionally shuddering from a fever chill. Emerald eyes landed on a pad of sticky-notes sitting on the edge of her tv stand, he shuffled over and grabbed the light blue pad and the pen that was beside it. He knew he'd feel better if he left his phone number with her, _just in case_ he told himself. He quickly scribbled down the digits and a quick note telling her to text or call if she needed anything, peeling the layer off of the pad and sticking it to the coffee table, right beside her Okayu.

Midoriya released a small sigh before heading for the door, slipping on his shoes and making sure to lock the door behind him as he left her apartment.

* * *

The two days of rest did her wonders. She was still feeling a little sniffly, but her fever had broken _finally_ after a day and a half and it was around that time that her appetite had returned with a vengeance. Natsumi had scarfed down the Okayu that Midoriya had left with her, feeling incredibly appreciative to have someone as kind and caring to look out for her. She wasn't used to having anyone fret over her, but she wouldn't deny the warmth that spread through her at the thought of someone being concerned for her well-being.

While the two days off had been nice, giving her time to catch up on her sleep, Natsumi was glad to be back at Yūei. Being stuck at home, sick and bedridden, was so boring. She had played through all of her video games multiple times, read through the same stupid Hero Weekly tabloids, and even changed around the rockscape in her fish tank. She had been starting to feel stir-crazy.

The walk to school was certainly a little more overwhelming than she had anticipated, strangers stopped her several times to either praise her for making it so far in the festival…or whisper behind their hands as she passed by. Natsumi, for once, paid them no mind and continued on her way, clutching her umbrella tightly and listening to the rain as it pelted against the surface.

With Midoriya's, now cleaned, tupperware tucked safely under her arm Natsumi strode towards their classroom, donning an eager smile for the day ahead of her. Hopefully training wouldn't be too strenuous since she was just getting over a cold, but even if it was, she was just happy to finally be back amongst the living and breathing in fresh air.

"Natsu-chan, I missed you!" Ashido sing-songed, flitting over to her with a wide, welcoming grin and wrapping her arms around the ivory haired girl as she entered the classroom.

"Yo, how're you feeling?" Kaminari leaned across his desk, cocking his head to the side and eyeing her up and down as if trying to find something wrong with her.

Natsumi shrugged her shoulders when the pink haired teen released her from her death-grip of an embrace, "The pain is being managed with some pretty great pain killers and my cold is, like, ninety percent gone. So, I'd say I'm on the mend, feeling much better for sure!"

"Ahh, so you _did_ get sick!" Ochako cried, bouncing over to her friend and examining her body. Natsumi bit back a laugh as the bubbly brunette lifted her arms, then placed a hand on the back of her forehead, when no fever was detected she circled around the ivory haired teen in an attempt to find an excuse to make her go home and rest more.

"Ochako-chan, I promise I'm well enough to be here."

Ochako puffed her cheeks and looked away in mock indignance at being called out, "I'm just making sure."

"Natsu-chan, you're looking much better!" Midoriya beamed as he entered the room, making a beeline for her as she made it to her desk and set her belongings down. He gave her a once over, much like everyone else had as she arrived, his emerald eyes crinkling at the corners in satisfaction when he deemed her to be healthy enough to be moving around on her own.

Todoroki was already in his seat, eyes trained on the girl from the moment she entered the classroom, his own concern well hidden behind his own scrutinizing stare. He had been frustrated over the fact that he hadn't been able to see her after her fight with Bakugou, he had stopped by the Recovery Room later that day only to be told that visiting hours were over. He had missed his chance to make sure she was okay and that alone was enough to piss him off, he had stewed in his anger and disappointment for those two days.

He could tell from the subtle changes in her body language that she was feeling overwhelmed by her classmates' concerns but felt too guilty to voice her thoughts and tell them to back off. Todoroki felt his lips twitch into a frown.

"Ah, yeah." She smiled warmly at the boy, "I really appreciate you stopping by and taking care of me. The Okayu really did the trick, thank you." She let out a soft gasp, remembering the bowl that she had tucked away into her bag upon entering the classroom and being bombarded by her friends. Cold fingers dug in her bag and pulled it out, handing it to the boy, "I washed it out after I chowed down on the rest of it yesterday. Seriously thank you, you were a life saver. I don't think I would have eaten anything at all had it not been for you."

The curly haired boy brought his hands up, cheeks burned bright red as he stuttered out, "Y-you're w-welcome. I just wanted t-to make sure you'd be o-okay. I know how severe y-your d-drawback can be sometimes."

Despite his flustered state, Midoriya's mind suddenly flashed to her empty fridge and cabinets after she spoke, a deep frown etching itself against his lips. She had yet to text him, meaning that he didn't have her number yet. He had hoped that she would've sent him a message after waking up from her nap so that he knew she was okay and so he would've had a chance to ask her if he could bring her anything else. But his phone had remained disappointingly silent over their short break.

"What?! Midoriya! You took care of Natsu-chan after the festival? _You sly dog_!" Kaminari hopped over the desks separating him from the boy, slinging his arm around Midoriya's shoulder and wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Midoriya's jaw dropped open, cheeks flushed an even brighter shade of crimson, if that was even possible, at the blonde's insinuation. He quickly waved his arms in front of himself in a defensive manner, horrified by the attention he was now receiving from the entire class as they all turned to stare at the scene unfolding, "N-no it's n-not like that Kaminari-kun!"

Kaminari waved his hand dismissively at the comment, leaning in closer so that his cheek was pressed up against Midoriya's, feeling the heat from the boy's embarrassment. He winked at Natsumi who stared back at him blankly, lips pulled into a thin line.

"You know, you've got everyone fooled thinkin' that you're some goody two shoes but in reality…you're one of us." The blonde's lips pulled back into a devious grin, motioning to himself and Mineta with his thumb.

"Midoriya-kun! I didn't think Natsu-chan was your type!" Mineta gasped, he had just hopped up onto the empty desk in front of said girl, his eyes half-lidded and eyebrows wiggling up and down, "I thought you were into the more innocent, bustier type of girl." His beady eyes drifted over to the bubbly brunette who was watching the conversation, cheeks puffed out. When Ochako heard the purple haired pervert stage whisper his thoughts about her being Midoriya's type her face reddened and she immediately turned away from the conversation.

"I'm going to only say this once, so listen up," Natsumi drawled slowly, "whatever creepy little fantasy your minds have collectively cooked up— _it's not that_. Midoriya-kun came over to check and make sure I was still alive because he worries about people and knows that my Quirk's drawback makes me incredibly ill. Leave the poor kid alone before he combusts."

Kaminari and Mineta exchanged glances before backing off, hanging their heads dejectedly. They knew what an angry Natsumi looked like and they didn't feel the need to poke the bear any further.

"A-ah, thanks Natsu-chan." The mossy haired boy stammered, catching his breath as Kaminari released him.

She shrugged her shoulders, leaning back in her chair, "No worries. Though, you should probably get to your seat before Aizawa-sensei shows up and gives you _the look_."

A small laugh escaped him, he knew _the look_ very well, considering Aizawa was always reprimanding him for breaking himself during training. He definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of their homeroom teacher's harsh glare today so he nodded his head and hurried to his desk.

Minutes later Aizawa strode through the door, his tired gaze landing on his students before slinking towards the podium at the front of the room. He was exhausted, not that that was any different from any other day, but he had been out late patrolling the night before and was barely able to catch three hours of shut eye before his alarm had blared at him from across his bedroom.

"Morning." He greeted, receiving a chorus of 'good morning's in return.

Tsu tilted her head curiously, "Aizawa-sensei, your bandages are gone, kero."

He nodded, scratching at his cheek. There was a brand new, crescent shaped scar below his right eye that hadn't been there before, "Yeah. Recovery Girl went overboard with her healing. More importantly, today we will be having a very important Hero Informatics class headed by Midnight," He started dryly, "you will be brainstorming ideas for what you want your Hero persona to be as well as choosing your Hero names. This is related to the pro hero draft picks I mentioned previously. The drafts begin, in earnest, in your second and third years after you've gained enough experience to truly become an asset to the pros. In other words, for them to extend offers to first years like you shows that they are interested in your future potential. These offers are often canceled if that interest dies down by graduation."

"Ah, so we'll have to prove ourselves even after we've already been picked?" Hagakure piped up, curiously.

"Exactly." Aizawa confirmed before turning towards the blackboard, "And here are the totals for those with offers."

His fingers wrapped around a small black remote, pressing the button in the center of it and watching as the blackboard lit up with a digital bar graph and the names of the students who had received offers from Pro Hero Agencies.

 _Todoroki Shouto – 4123  
Bakugou Katsuki – 3556_

Natsumi's eyes widened at the numbers that flashed on the board, anxiously biting her lip in preparation of seeing her name. _Don't kid yourself, no hero agency is going to want to take in someone like you._

She nearly choked on her own saliva when her own name popped up on the screen with the number **569** bolded next to it.

"Usually the numbers are more spread out, but it seems that all eyes were on Bakugou and Todoroki this time around." Aizawa explained, his knuckles absently rapping against the blackboard.

"Todoroki-kun's first while Bakugou-kun is second…?" Jirou mumbled.

"Yeah, it's the opposite of their placement in the festival." Kirishima chuckled.

"Ah, Midoriya you didn't get any offers." Mineta shook the boy by his shoulders, unaware of the distraught look on said boy's face as he continued to rub in the fact that he hadn't received any offers, "They must be scared of you because of the crazy way you were fighting!"

Their homeroom teacher silenced the class once more, "Keeping these results in mind, whether you received an offer or not you will all be participating in internships with pro heroes. "

Midoriya perked up, furrowing his brows, "Internships?"

Aizawa hummed thoughtfully, "Yeah. You already got to experience combat with real villains at USJ, but it will still be meaningful training for you to see first hand how pros operate in the field."

"So that explains the Hero names!" Sato clenched his fists in excitement.

"With that out of the way, as mentioned before, Midnight will be working with you today to choose your code names."

Excited chatter erupted almost instantaneously.

So many of them had been thinking about what they'd want their Hero persona to be like, what they'd want to be called by the public, since they were little kids. It was finally time to make those thoughts and dreams a reality. This was the next step towards becoming a Hero.

Natsumi found herself frowning, deep in thought, as Aizawa's words hung in the air. She was probably the only one in the entire class that had never actually thought about what her Hero name would be. She had never even dreamed that she'd make it this far to begin with and now she needed to figure out what she wanted the public to know her as. _Other than that villain girl_ , she thought bitterly. It was overwhelming to say the least. The fact that she was going to be a Hero felt more solidified now, rather than just being a thought, an idle dream that All Might had gifted to her.

 _I'm…this is actually going to happen, isn't it?_ She swallowed the nervous pooling of saliva in her mouth, eyes set in a straight stare at her teacher and briefly she found him meeting her gaze. Aizawa's eyes softened a fraction, a subtle change to his demeaner that was lost to the rest of the class, it was almost as if he could read her thoughts and that small change in his expression was meant to reassure her.

 _Wait. You can't read minds, right? Call Bakugou a whiny little baby if you can hear this._ Natsumi watched him steadily and was momentarily relieved when he broke his gaze and stared out at the rest of the class. She let out a sigh, comforted by the fact that her teacher couldn't look into her thoughts, that would've made him so much more dangerous than he already was and no one needed to know what went on in that head of hers.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in waltz Midnight, cracking her crop against her thigh, lips puckered in a playful pout, "I thought I told you to give me a spicier introduction, Eraser."

Aizawa rolled his eyes, completely ignoring her playful attitude, "That would have been irrational and completely unwarranted. Just get on with the lesson and leave me out of it."

She let out a laugh, "Of course, since we all know how awful you are at these types of things."

He simply grunted in response before pulling his ratty, yellow sleeping bag out from behind the podium and rolling it out. He slipped inside the thick folds of the bag with ease and nestled in, ready to sleep for the rest of the class.

"Aizawa-sensei, how did you come up with your Hero name?" Natsumi decided that raising her hand and waiting to be called on would have been pointless considering that their teacher had already closed his eyes in preparation of his nap. She needed to know though, what his thought process behind picking a name had been because maybe it could help her figure something out for herself. She could use all the help she could get.

He peaked one eye open, hiding the surprise that he felt when he heard her call out her question. Natsumi rarely asked questions in class, the only time she typically spoke was when called on and caught off guard or when she was speaking with one of her classmates.

"I didn't." He finally spoke, voice slightly muffled against the fabric of his sleeping bag. Her expression dropped into that of disappointment at his short response and he felt a small pang of guilt, he had an inkling that she was struggling with this assignment and needed more guidance to help her choose the perfect Hero name. Unfortunately, he wasn't the person who could help her with that, hence, the reasoning for Midnight being there in the first place. He assumed that Natsumi more than likely hadn't thought about what she would be called as a Hero because she very likely didn't believe that she could make it as a Pro Hero with a past like hers.

He let out a soft sigh, he would have to speak with her about her lack of confidence towards her future at a later time, "I'm not great at this sort of thing, nor do I care much for names and formalities to begin with. Present Mic is the one who came up with Eraserhead and I didn't see any reason to put much thought into coming up with something else. If you're having trouble thinking of something, Midnight will be more than happy to assist you, Kurosawa."

Midnight grinned, nodding in affirmation, "I'd be delighted to help anyone who needs it, gives me an excuse to get my creative juices flowing."

Several of the boys, namely Kaminari and Mineta, nearly burst a blood vessel as Midnight mentioned 'her juices'. The girls simply groaned as the two boys started drooling, puddles of saliva forming quickly on their desk tops. Jirou and Tsuyu quickly stepped in to squash the nasty fantasies running through the boys' heads, an earjack shoved itself in Mineta's ear while a long tongue smacked Kaminari over the head.

"While these names are still temporary, it would be best for you to come up with something that you like, a name that truly suits you and how you want the public to see you. Oftentimes, the code names that you come up with here at school end up becoming the official names you're known by to the public later on. And no one wants to be stuck with a professional Hero name that they don't relate to or care for, so think _long_ and _hard_ —"

Mineta, Kaminari, and Sero all snickered while the rest of the class let out a collective groan.

"—about what you want the world to see you as." Midnight finished with a flourish, winking at the three childish boys and sending them toppling over in their chairs from the attention.

Natsumi continued to feel an overwhelming onslaught of emotions but did her best to keep her neutral mask in place, not wanting to spoil everyone else's fun. Small, rectangular white boards were passed back along with dry erase markers and she sat there, staring blankly at the board in her hand, silently willing it to tell her what she should call herself.

A small groan escaped her and she thought that she had been quiet enough in her inner turmoil to not draw any attention to herself. So when the boy sitting beside her glanced over and asked her what was wrong her back stiffened and she plastered on a fake smile.

"Oh nothing, Todoroki."

He wasn't convinced, raising a brow, "Don't lie."

A frown fell upon her lips and she turned away from him for a moment, crimson eyes staring down at the dry erase marker clutched tightly in her trembling hand. Letting out a small sigh, she glanced back at the boy, conflicted crimson meeting concerned heterochromatic eyes.

"I don't know what my Hero name should be." She admitted plainly, "I…it's never once crossed my mind so I feel very overwhelmed being put on the spot like this."

His gaze softened at her admission and he briefly thought of what words of encouragement he could tell her. Truth be told, he didn't have any idea what his Hero name should be either. Nothing that he had thought of sounded remotely like the image he was going for, nothing _fit_.

"I guess we're in the same boat." Todoroki tilted his head.

She seemed confused by his words before realizing what he had meant and leaning towards him in disbelief, "Are you serious? You have two amazing Quirks, there's so many names that you could choose from that would all be really cool and catchy. I can't believe that you don't have any ideas."

"Well, _do you_?" He quirked an eyebrow, at seeing her continued confusion he quickly amended himself, "Have any ideas for me, that is."

Seeming to think his words over for a moment, Natsumi tapped her index finger against her chin in contemplation. She really wasn't good at this sort of thing which was why she was struggling so hard coming up with something for herself. This was a moniker that she'd likely be stuck with for the rest of her life, it was a _huge_ deal. Maybe helping him with his would ultimately lead to her thinking of something for herself.

Returning her attention to Todoroki she grinned, "What about Winter Fire?"

He blinked once, twice, three times before bringing his palm up to cover his lips in an attempt to hide the soft laughter that spilled from him. Todoroki didn't show this side of himself often, and honestly there wasn't much that could make him laugh but…her absolutely ridiculous name suggestion was enough to send him over the edge. It was beyond amusing.

At his response to her suggestion she felt her chest tighten, not in displeasure or embarrassment over his clear rejection of the name, but because the simple sound of his quiet laughter stirred something within her. This was the first time she had ever actually heard him laugh, _actually_ laugh, and even though it was directed towards her she couldn't be mad.

"Alright, so that's a 'no' on Winter Fire, got it." Natsumi bit back her grin, "See, I told you I'm awful at this. Maybe I should pull an Aizawa-sensei and have someone else pick a name for me."

Todoroki's quiet laughter died down, his lips pulled back into an amused smirk, "I wouldn't if I were you. You might get saddled up with something like 'Winter Fire'."

Her jaw dropped, _did he just?_ She pulled herself together quickly and shot back, "Oh, Todoroki Shouto has jokes now, does he?"

"Seems that way." He retorted coolly.

She pursed her lips, shooting him a look of feigned offense, "So rude."

Midnight tapped her crop against the podium, successfully gaining the attention of all the students, "Alright, let's go ahead and start presenting your names, starting with those who are ready."

Expressions of panic washed over the classroom at the prospect of having to stand at the front of the room and share what they had come up with. Natsumi's eyes widened, she still didn't have any idea what she wanted to call herself and now she felt an immense pressure to come up with something decent quickly.

The silence was suffocating, dread slowly filling the room, the air was thick with tension as everyone tried their best to not draw attention to themselves out of fear that Midnight would call upon them to present their names. After a full minute of awkward silence, Midnight narrowed her eyes and tapped her foot against the ground impatiently, "I know I said that I'd start with those willing to come up here on their own accord and share but if no one is going to do that then you leave me no choice—"

The screeching sound of chair legs sliding against the tiled floor halted the 18+ Hero from finishing what she had been about to say, her eyebrows rose high into her hairline before a wide grin spread across her face.

Natsumi was aware that all eyes were suddenly on her, she noticed Todoroki, from the corner of her eye, give her an encouraging stretch of his lips. She still wasn't ready, not really, but if no one else was going to go up and humor Midnight then Natsumi figured that she'd take one for the team to prevent anyone not ready yet from being called on.

She stood in front of the podium, facing her classmates with feigned confidence that probably fooled more than half of them. Her crimson gaze fell to the still empty white board in her hands before she uncapped the dry erase marker in her hand.

"This name was actually chosen for me by a _dear friend_ ," Natsumi made sure to place a thick emphasis on the words 'dear friend', her eyes darting to meet Bakugou's narrowed carmine stare.

"You don't think she's going to…?" Sero whispered.

"She's not _that_ bold, is she?" Kaminari wondered out loud.

Bakugou scowled, brows knitting tightly together in irritation at the girl's implications behind her supposed Hero name. _Don't you fucking dare_ , he tried to convey with his expression alone, watching as her lips quickly pulled back into a mischievous smirk at his riled countenance.

"I think it's a name that has a certain flare to it, a definite pizazz that's going to have people talking about me for years to come." She capped the marker and placed it on top of the podium behind her, her fingers gripping the edges of the whiteboard in her hand before turning it to show her classmates.

 _Ice Bitch_.

Bakugou fought hard against the amused smirk that wanted to paint its way onto his lips because no way would he let her know how he actually felt, "Fuck off, don't steal my nickname for you, you uncreative bitch." The ash blonde growled, slamming his hands against the top of his desk.

Natsumi let out a loud bark of laughter as she watched everyone's faces fall into various looks of horror and amusement at the big reveal. Todoroki let out a small sigh, though couldn't deny the slight crinkling at the corners of his eyes, _Why do you insist on causing trouble?_ Ochako placed a palm over her mouth to muffle her giggles, Ashido burst into fits of laughter, Midoriya kept his gaze solely on his desk top, his cheeks tinged a bright pink, Iida let out a loud gasp of abject horror, eyes wide and unable to form any coherent words to scold her with for being so vulgar.

Midnight strode forward, snatching the whiteboard from the ivory haired teen's fingers and using her palm to erase what had been written before handing it back, "That's a little too inappropriate for Hero work, try again. If you're having trouble try envisioning what type of hero you'd like to become, what sort of work you'd like to specialize in, or even just think of words that tie into your Quirk. It doesn't have to be some incredibly meaningful name, as long as it's something that you like that encapsulates you as a Hero then that's all that matters."

The teen frowned at the teacher's words. She had only gone up and presented Bakugou's horrible nickname for her as a way to waste a little time and distract Midnight from calling on her unprepared friends. But she knew that sooner or later she would need to return to the front of the classroom and present _something_.

She returned to her desk with a huff, slouching against the back of her chair and staring down at the empty board in front of her.

Todoroki glanced over at her, "Maybe you should've gone with Winter Fire, after all."

Natsumi snorted, "That name was for _you_."

Aoyama danced his way to the front of the classroom, his trademark secretive little smirk present as he stared out at his classmates. He flipped his white board over and struck a pose, "The Shining Hero: I Can Not Stop Twinkling! Which means, you can't stop my sparkles!"

 _That's a whole sentence! I thought Hero names were supposed to be short, concise, and catchy? Ugh, are you telling me now that it needs to be a whole phrase? This is impossible._ Natsumi inwardly groaned, leaning her elbow against the surface of her desk and plopping her chin into the palm of her hand despondently.

Midnight sidled up beside the blonde and took the white board from him, turning it towards herself to make adjustments to his name, "It'll be easier to use if you take out the ' _I_ ' and shorten ' _can not'_ to ' _can't_ '." She turned the white board around the show everyone _Can't Stop Twinkling_.

Aoyama turned as well, giving the updated nickname an appraising smile, "You're right, mademoiselle!"

"Ahh, that's okay?!" Half the class voiced their concerns over the name being too long.

Ashido pushed back her chair excitedly, bounding up to the front of the room with an eager bounce in her step and a wide grin plastered on her face, "I'll go next!" She turned her white board around and revealed to the class that she wanted to be known as _Alien Queen_.

Midnight blanched, "I wouldn't if I were you. A name like that is more reminiscent to something that a villain would call themselves—or something from a horror movie."

Ashido's excited demeanor dropped and she hung her head on her way back to her seat, wracking her brain for another name she could choose. Natsumi shot her friend a sympathetic look, this was probably the hardest exercise they had to complete since coming to Yūei. Not even fighting against real life villains could compare to the level of anxiety they were feeling at having to choose an official Hero moniker.

The rest of the class began to panic, feeling as if they now needed to come up with funny names after the first three had gone up to present theirs in a less than serious manner. The pressure was definitely on.

"May I go next?" Tsuyu raised her hand, almost uncertain in her decision but figuring that it was now or never. She had been thinking about her Hero name and persona since she was a little girl and was finally ready to let the world know who she planned to become. Midnight nodded her head, pleased that _finally_ someone had some manners to raise their hand instead of just barging on up to the front of the class.

Her back was slightly hunched, elbows tucked against her side while keeping her whiteboard flush against her chest, Tsuyu had a slight hop to her step as she positioned herself in front of the podium, "I've had this in mind ever since I was in elementary school." She turned the board around, "The Rainy Season Hero: Froppy!"

Midnight slid over to Tsuyu, hands clasped adoringly as she gushed, "That's so cute! It seems very friendly, I like it! It's a great example of a name that everyone will love!"

A chorus of _"Froppy! Froppy!"_ rung out across the classroom, half of the students pumped their fists in the air to show their support for their friend.

Kirishima was next, choosing the name _'Red Riot'_ named after his favorite Hero growing up, Crimson Riot. Jirou rushed up to the podium with a grin and the name ' _Earphone Jack'_ written on her board. Kaminari went with ' _Chargebolt_ ', he seemed very proud for coming up with something clever enough to reflect his Quirk so well. Several more people went up to present theirs, all of them equally as good as the last.

Natsumi was becoming antsy as, one by one, her classmates gained the courage to go up and reveal their names, soon enough there were only a handful of them left who had yet to present anything. A frown marred her complexion, she continued to stare down at the blank board laying flat on her desk, she had a couple ideas now but was still unsure which one to go with. She tilted her head to the side to ask her seatmate's opinion but was surprised to find herself staring at his retreating back as he made his way towards the front of the room.

 _I wonder what he decided on? Knowing Todoroki, it's probably something clever. I wonder if it'll allude to both of his Quirks…or if he's still planning on mainly using his ice?_

The boy had an almost bored expression as he glanced out across his classmates, mismatched eyes lingering on his seatmate for a moment before he flipped his board over, "Shouto."

"Just your name? Is that okay?" Midnight questioned curiously.

He nodded, answering with a simple, "Yeah." before striding back to his seat.

"Man, here I was so sure that you were going to pick something more clever, a name that was the epitome of creativity like Winter Fire." She breathed out a sigh of feigned disappointment.

Todoroki glanced over at her with a raised brow, "I don't think the world is ready for Winter Fire."

She let out a hum of agreement, "You're probably right."

After a few more people went up front it was finally Bakugou's turn to stomp up there, a confident smirk painted his lips, slamming the bottom of the whiteboard against the podium that he stood behind, "King Explosion Murder."

The classroom was quiet, no one knowing what to say because he was absolutely _serious_ about the name despite the fact that it was even more ridiculous than anything that had been said at the beginning of the class. The silence was broken by a loud bark of laughter, followed by a fist pounding against the desk top as Natsumi absolutely lost her shit.

"Oh my god. This is the best day ever." She gasped between her bouts of laughter.

"You better shut your fucking trap, ice bitch, before I kill you." He growled, which only furthered her amusement.

"I-I will never take you seriously ever again, holy shit. I can't believe you were able to say that name with a straight face." She was practically wheezing at this point, tears streaming down her face. Todoroki cast a glance over at her and quietly asked if she was okay, she quickly nodded in affirmation.

"Natsu-chan is bold." Kaminari whistled appreciatively.

"I think it's cute. It's their own way of saying that they actually like each other." Tsuyu commented, finger poking at the side of her lips.

Natsumi immediately sobered up at the other girl's words and she stared, wide eyed and mouth gaping in disbelief, "E-excuse me, Tsu-chan?"

"You two yell, threaten, and provoke each other on a daily basis but they're just empty threats, nothing ever comes from your hostility. Were it anyone else, Bakugou-kun wouldn't hesitate to hit them, but with you it almost seems like he's a little softer." Tsuyu explained, before adding, "Could it be that you're secret lovers?"

Natsumi fell out of her chair, her body hitting the tiled floor with a dull thud, she could not believe what the frog-like girl had insinuated! It made her nauseous just thinking about it.

"What the fuck did you say, froglips?!" The ash blonde snarled, fingers curling at his sides, "As if I'd ever stoop so fucking low as to date that loser!"

The ivory haired girl shot back to her feet at the blatant insult, eyes narrowed and lips pulled back into a scowl, "Dating me would be a fucking honor."

"I'd rather die."

"That can be arranged."

"You wanna fucking go?!"

"Are you asking me out? I'm afraid I have to politely decline, you're not my type, _King Explosion Murder._ " She slid back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and upturning her nose, deciding that the conversation was over.

"As fun as it is to watch you two have your little lovers quarrel—"

Natsumi and Bakugou both shot Midnight their own brand of death glares.

"—I think we should get back to the task at hand. Bakugou, you can't use a name like that. Sit back down and come up with something less murder-y, please." The Pro Hero let out a sigh as the ash blonde growled, stomping back to his seat.

Iida walked to the front of the classroom, an air of uncertainty surrounding him as he chose the name ' _Tenya'_. Natsumi noticed that he seemed a little off, not as excitable as he typically did, but she then recalled that Ochako had mentioned, when she visited her in the infirmary, that Iida's brother had been attacked.

After he sat back down Midoriya presented the name ' _Deku'_ , surprising everyone with his choice. Bakugou seemed extra displeased that the name he had come up with tear the boy down had now become a symbol of strength for him.

This now left only two people left. Herself and Bakugou.

Midnight's expectant stare had landed on Natsumi, "Kurosawa, you ready?"

Todoroki eyed her from his peripherals, wondering if she had come up with something during all that time spent watching the rest of their classmates present theirs. He was curious, though he did hope that whatever she picked for herself was much better than the name she had come up for him.

"Ah, yeah." She mumbled, tucking a stray strand of curly ivory hair behind her ear as she slowly stood from her seat and shuffled up towards the front of the room. She could feel the curious stares of her classmates boring into her and it brought back her feeling of uneasiness.

 _It's now or never. Midnight isn't going to let me go until I actually come up with something_.

She uncapped her marker for what felt like the millionth time that day, trembling fingers slowly writing down the name she had thought of, the marker squeaking loudly against the white board. Drawing in a steady breath, Natsumi flipped the board around, "It took me a while to think of something not cringeworthy and what I finally came up with was: _The Frozen Hero: Hisame_." The kanji she had used for Hisame meaning 'ice storm'.

Midnight's lips pulled back into a pleased grin, "I like it, it's cute and is the type of name that advertises exactly who you are and what you can do. Good job, Kurosawa."

Her classmates cheered and clapped their hands for her, all voicing their own excitement over the name she had chosen.

Natsumi beamed at the praise, her anxieties over the situation melted away at the supportive comments chorused by her classmates. She immediately felt foolish for worrying so much in the first place. As she capped her marker and started heading back towards her desk, she could've sworn that she saw Aizawa-sensei's lips twitch into a smile.

 _Ah, must be having a good dream._ She mused.

Todoroki turned to look at her when she returned to her seat, his brows furrowed, lips pulled back into a slight frown, "Where was that creativity when you were trying to think of something for me?"

She bit back a teasing grin, "Couldn't let you know that I was secretly a master at coming up with Hero names, now could I?"

"Sneaky girl." He mumbled.

Aizawa woke up shortly after that, blinking the grogginess away before stifling a yawn. Midnight waved to the kids, telling them she was proud of them, before leaving.

"Those of you who were picked by pros, I have the lists of agencies that were interested in you here that I will pass out momentarily. You will have until the end of the week to decide who you would like to participate in your internship with, I expect all forms to be properly filled out and submitted to me no later than Friday." He drawled as he pulled out a thick stack of papers from his sleeping bag, "Those of you who were not chosen will still have a chance, as previously mentioned. Your list will be much shorter in comparison, but please take this as an opportunity to learn from the pros that you choose as they will be your mentors for an entire week."

He went down the aisles passing out the papers, some of them only received a singular sheet while others, like Todoroki and Bakugou, received literal novel sized stacks of names in tiny print. Excited chatter erupted as the students started reading over their lists and gushing to their neighbors about the Pro Heroes who had sent in a request for them. It was overwhelming but so exciting to know that Pros had actually seen potential in them, the teens could not wait until their internships began.

Glancing over at the enormous stack in front of Todoroki, Natsumi let out a small laugh, "That's pretty intimidating, how're you ever going to choose someone?"

"I already know who I plan on interning with." He shrugged his shoulders, not even bothering to look through the thousands of names sitting in front of him.

She let out a small hum, turning back to her own stack of papers, not quite as impressive as Todoroki's, but she was still reeling from the fact that so many Pro Heroes had deemed her worthy of interning with them. Natsumi didn't even know where to begin, she didn't know much about Heroes other than the Top Ten and the ones that taught her class so a majority of the names meant absolutely nothing to her.

Crimson eyes scanned over the names, hoping to catch one that sounded familiar to her. _Maybe I should ask Midoriya-kun for his input._

Suddenly, her stare landed on one name in particular and she felt her chest tighten, eyes locked on the printed text with a heated glare. She found herself staring at the name for longer than necessary, realistically she knew that the Hero that name belonged to couldn't feel her anger no matter how hard she glared down at the paper, though she absently hoped that wherever he was that he suddenly spilt his coffee on himself, or tripped in public, or _something_ equally as embarrassing.

 **Endeavor Hero Agency.**

For the life of her she couldn't possibly begin to fathom why he had sent in a request for her in the first place. Mere _days_ ago he had called her a villain, condemned the school for allowing her to even attend, and now he was asking her to intern with him? It didn't make sense. He was a horrible, conniving man who had more villainous qualities than virtues…he must have been up to something. She wouldn't have put it past him to request her only to humiliate and demean her the entire week.

Todoroki, from the corner of his eye, watched as Natsumi scanned through her own list before stopping completely on one name in particular. From his position he was unable to see who the name belonged to, but his curiosity was growing by the minute as she continued to stare with brows furrowed and an angry scowl painting her face.

"Is something wrong?" He asked softly.

Her fingers pinched the edge of the paper in her hands before quickly ripping off the bottom portion of the sheet and crumpling it up with an angry huff. There was no goddamn way she would choose him. She didn't care that he was the Number Two Hero.

She grunted out a, "I'm fine." Before going back to her list, the boy beside her definitely seemed surprised by her reaction but decided not to press the matter as she already seemed irritated and he didn't want to make it worse.

Another name caught her attention, but not in a negative way like Endeavor's had. She tilted her head curiously, _I'm a little surprised that two of the Top Ten were on my list…_

"Natsu-chan~!" Ashido danced over to her with a dazzling grin, seating herself atop the ivory haired teen's desk and staring down at her eagerly, "Isn't this so exciting!? You have a pretty big list there, any idea who you're going to pick?"

Natsumi pulled herself out of her thoughts long enough to tilt her head up to meet her friend's expectant gaze, lips pulled back in a teasing smile, "I have an idea."

"Oh? _Who_?" Curly pink curls bounced as the girl leaned in closer, face inches apart from her friend's.

"I think I'll keep it to myself for now, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise." _That, and I don't even know for sure I want to choose him to begin with, I need a few days to really think this over._

Ashido let out a loud, dramatic groan, "Ahh, Natsu-chan you're such a _tease_!"

* * *

Once class was over for the day Natsumi bid her classmates goodbye, shoving her books and Hero Agency list roughly into her bag before booking it out of the room. She was on a mission and she needed to find him before he left school grounds, though she was pretty sure that he usually stayed pretty late to finish grading papers and work on lesson plans.

The closer she got to the teacher's lounge the less students she saw ambling through the hallways. To be fair, no one in their right mind wanted to stay late after school and risk running into one of their instructors…yet here she was, standing outside of the teacher's lounge with intent to barge inside and speak with her homeroom teacher.

As her fingers enclosed around the handle of the door, it suddenly was pulled open from the other side, sending her staggering forward. A pair of arms shot out, gripping her shoulders to steady her. When Natsumi was finally able to correct her balance and take a step back she was delighted and confused to see a familiar head of unkempt lilac spikes. Heavy bags clung to his lower lids, something she had noticed the first time they had met but now seemed even more pronounced than before. He stepped around her, closing the door behind him and meeting her curious gaze with tired indigo eyes.

"Not the most graceful entrance I've seen. I'd give it a three out of ten." He drawled, lips upturning in a lazy smirk.

She let out a gasp, narrowing her eyes up at the taller boy, "How _dare_ you. That was _at least_ a four and a half."

"You're delusional, Kurosawa." He scoffed, though she could see the playful glint in his dark eyes.

She let out an annoyed huff, leaning back on the heel of her right foot and running a hand through her curly ivory locks before glancing up at him with a small smile, "I was actually hoping to run into you."

"Oh?" He tilted his head.

"You were great at the Sports Festival." She breathed out quietly, lips pulled back into a grin so bright that he almost had to shield his eyes, "We're going to be starting our Internships soon, but, when I come back I figured maybe we could train together."

Shinsou's eyes widened slightly at her invitation to train together, definitely not something he was expecting to hear from her. He absently brought his hand up to rub at the back of his neck, a nervous tic of his, and he slowly met her expectant stare, his lips dipped into a suspicious frown, "Why would you want to do that?"

She supposed that she should have expected a guarded response from him. _Because you deserve a shot_. Natsumi wanted to say, but instead, settled for, "Because we need to work on those limp noodles you call arms."

He blinked, his hand dropped from his neck and he snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his heel, raising a brow at her, "Look who's talking."

Natsumi let out a soft laugh, "Hey, I'm working on it. But, I also have a Quirk that makes up for my lack of physical strength, too. You, on the other hand, aren't receiving the type of training that we are which puts you at a disadvantage if you want to transfer into the Hero Course. So, I figured, if we trained together and built up your muscle mass, you'd be more prepared for when the time comes for whatever entrance exam or initiation they're willing to put you through."

He considered her words, truly shocked by the girl standing before him, but he reigned in his emotions quickly, replacing what he was feeling with his typical mask of indifference so she couldn't see the mess he had quickly become over her words. She was a tiny thing, a little over half a foot shorter than he was with a lithe build, easy to underestimate if you didn't know any better. Despite her unassuming appearance, she was strong, determined, had impressive control over her Quirk and, for some reason, she saw something in him that no one else had.

Shinsou found that he couldn't say ' _no'_ to her suggestion, not that he actually wanted to. She was an interesting kid, that was for sure, and he found himself not hating her like he did the rest of the student body. She was also willing to help him work towards his goal to becoming a Hero, Shinsou knew that he could use all the help he could get and after his talk with Aizawa and the conversation he was currently having with Natsumi he was certain that he was closer to his dream than ever before.

He smirked down at her, "You know, if you wanted to spend extra time with me all you had to do was ask."

She blinked, completely ignoring his teasing remark, she leaned forward with a knowing grin, "Is that a yes to training then?"

He closed his eyes momentarily, dropping his shoulders in a light shrug, "Why not? I could use a workout buddy."

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're pretty." It was now her turn to smirk as his cheeks tinged pink, "We gotta whip your scrawny ass into shape."

Shinsou recovered rather quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning towards her with a half-smirk, his face inches from hers, "You think I'm pretty _and_ you've taken an interest in my ass? Kurosawa, are you _flirting_ with me?"

Natsumi let out a long, drawn out groan, but met his teasing gaze with an unwavering one of her own, "As if, Shinsou. Now, I did actually come here to speak with Aizawa-sensei, not go back and forth with you all day."

He shrugged his shoulders, stepped around her, a chuckle rumbling from his chest, "Whatever you say."

"Oh! Before you go, give me your number." She pulled out her phone and shoved it into his hands almost aggressively, "So we can work on a training schedule for when I get back."

Shinsou stared down at the phone in his hands, noticing that the background photo was a selfie of Natsumi, laying on her couch with a lazy smile while she held the phone up to take the photo of herself and the little black cat that was curled up around her neck.

 _Cute_.

He quickly clicked on the 'new contact' button, fingers quickly working to enter in his phone number before handing the phone back to her, "That your cat?"

She blinked, tilting her head before remembering that she had a photo of herself and Kaguya as her wallpaper, "Yeah, that's Kaguya. She can be a pain in the ass so when she's in an affectionate mood I like to document it because it's not very often that she wants to cuddle."

He nodded, the corners of his lips twitching, _that's another thing we have in common_. Not many people knew, but, Shinsou absolutely loved cats. He wasn't allowed to have one because his father was allergic so he lived vicariously through anyone who had one and oftentimes would spend lazy afternoons at the local cat cafes to get his feline fix.

Natsumi quickly sent him a text so that he'd have her number, "Alright, well I better head in there. See you later, Shinsou."

"Good luck with your internship, Kurosawa." He raised a hand in farewell as he turned and strode down the hallway out of sight.

She quickly turned around, taking a deep breath to steel her nerves before knocking on the door twice to announce her presence before pushing the door open.

Inside it was mostly empty, a couple of teachers hung around chatting in the back while sipping piping hot mugs of coffee. Her eyes immediately landed on the lonely figure on the far side of the room, half concealed by his signature yellow sleeping bag as he sat at his desk and typed away at his lap top.

Upon her entrance his eyes swiveled in her directly but he made no motion to move or invite her over. Natsumi let out the breath that she had been holding, shuffling towards her homeroom teacher and seating herself in the chair across from him. She was quiet for a few minutes, trying to piece together her thoughts.

"Something on your mind, Kurosawa?" His eyes stayed trained on the computer screen as he spoke, realizing that if she was just going to sit there without speaking then he'd have to initiate the conversation.

His gruff voice pulled her out of her thoughts and she straightened in her seat, "A-ah, yeah. Sensei, I know that it was mentioned before that those who're in the General Studies department could potentially be transferred into the Hero Course if they showed potential and, I mean, I know my opinion probably doesn't matter at all on this matter but—"

Aizawa let out a sigh, turning to give her his attention, pinching the bridge of his nose as she rambled on. She was reminding him more like Midoriya in this moment, "Out with it."

"I want you to consider Shinsou Hitoshi for the Hero Course." She blurted out, wide eyes moving up to meet the dark, intimidating stare of her homeroom teacher.

Initially he had thought that she was coming to speak with him about her insecurities over becoming a Hero, he was momentarily surprised when that was the furthest thing from what was on her mind. Aizawa leaned back in his seat, "Why should I do that?"

She scrunched up her nose, as if she was offended that he would be asking such a question because the reasons should have been obvious to him. He quirked an amused eyebrow at her.

"He's worked so hard to get here; his Quirk is insanely strong and useful—can you imagine how helpful it would be in apprehending villains or during interrogations? He'd probably be the most efficient Hero when it came to getting confessions or just stopping villains without the need for violence." She narrowed her eyes, "We worked so well together during that second event—we didn't even _know_ each other or the rest of our teammates but we still made it work. He was able to think up strategies on the fly and adapt to changes with impressive speed." The longer she sat there in front of him the more passionate she became, her voice becoming louder and louder with her own resolve and determination, "It's no secret that the entrance exams favor those with physical Quirks, making it almost impossible for someone with a mental Quirk to do well enough to pass. The entire system is unfair, he deserves the chance to chase his dream, sensei."

His lips curled into a smirk, "Is that so? Well I, along with the other teachers, will be reviewing the footage from the Sports Festival over the next couple of days. I will certainly keep your testimony in mind."

Natsumi nodded slowly, muttering a soft 'thank you'. Aizawa turned back to his work, assuming that that was the end of the conversation and that she had said everything that she needed to. His fingers glided across his keyboard for another half minute before he let out another sigh, "Is that all? I have work to do Kurosawa and you've got your fair share of homework you should get started on as well."

She fidgeted, "Well, that wasn't the only reason I came here. With the internships starting soon I was starting to wonder, I mean, I'm pretty sure I know who I was going to go with and if I do it's on the other side of the country. I just…"

"Who were you thinking of going to?"

She glanced up, fingers laced together in her lap, "I was thinking of interning with Hawks."

Aizawa nodded mutely, leaning forward, "That would be a great opportunity for you to learn alongside one of the Top Ten Pros. I know that he rarely, if ever, chooses students to intern with him so he must have really been impressed by your performance. So, what's the problem?"

"Well, it's the distance, really." She admitted, lips tugging into a frown.

"Why would the location of your internship matter?" He rose a curious brow.

"I'm just going to come out and say it; Aizawa-sensei I have a cat at home." He blinked, but she continued, "I was hoping that maybe you could stop by my apartment every other day or so and just fill up her bowl while I'm gone? I know it's a lot to ask and it's not your responsibility and you're probably really busy but I'm worried that if I choose an agency that far from home that she'll end up starving in the span of that week that I'm gone. I mean, I can always choose a local agency—"

The older man let out a small groan, raising a hand to quiet her frantic mumbling, "Don't make such an irrational decision. Go intern with Hawks." He buried his chin into his capture weapon and grunted, "I will figure something out so don't base your decision solely on what's going to happen with your cat. If it ends up being me stopping by then so be it, if not then I will find someone to help out."

Truth be told, Aizawa was going to be extremely busy during that time. Usually he didn't take on interns for himself, he already had enough on his plate with assignments that needed to be graded, nightly patrols, and trying to catch up on his sleep. But this year was different. Though, he was sure that he could spare a few minutes to stop by and feed Natsumi's cat in between his busy schedule. He had a particularly soft spot for felines, if he wasn't such a busy man he would've had his own squadron of cats to return home to.

"Ah, thank you so much Aizawa-sensei." She breathed a sigh of relief and he could tell that she no longer had any reservations about which agency she was going to choose.

"Any time, Kurosawa." He nodded his head, as she stood to leave he called back out to her, "Don't hesitate to reach out to me or any of the other teachers if you're ever feeling unsure about why you're here."

Natsumi paused, fingers draped over the back of the chair she had previously been occupying, her eyes still trained on the exit but hearing his words drift over to her made warmth blossom in her chest. She dipped her chin and smiled, "I appreciate that, I'll try my best to remember what brought me here in the first place. Thank you, sensei."

With those final words hanging in the air, the crimson eyed teen left the teacher's lounge and decided to head home to give Kaguya enough attention to last her through the lonely week she was sure to have when internships finally did start.

* * *

CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THAT I UPDATED AGAIN THIS SOON?! I can't believe it honestly. I finished that monster 20k chapter 12 literally 5 days ago and immediately started writing this and haven't stopped writing since pretty much. Don't know what's gotten into me but I'm excited about the productivity.

Lots of cute little TodorokixNatsu moments in this chapter that I really enjoyed writing. Also, I have no idea what their ship name should be? TodoMi? I don't know haha.

Also, if anyone out there feels like drawing the scene where Natsu is up at the podium and flips over the board with 'ice bitch' written on it and pissing Bakugou off, god I would die. LOL

But also thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Seriously, it means everything to me and I'm thinking that's what gave me to motivation to be so productive and push this chapter out so damn quickly. So keep 'em coming! Who knows, maybe I'll be able to continue riding this productivity high and churn out another chapter—I'm hoping I can, but we will see what happens.

 **Bbymojo** thank you so much for that beautifully long review! There is going to be plenty more cranky/jealous Todoroki scenes that's for sure because Shinsou's not going anywhere, haha. And I agree, I think her fight with Bakugou was a turning point for her, she still has anxiety over becoming a Hero as evidenced here when she's trying to think of a hero name. It's more like she has little moments of doubt but she always ends up remembering why she's here and then strives to do her best, she just doesn't want to disappoint her new friends, herself, or her teachers.

 **YummyGummies-UwU** I absolutely adore Shinsou! He's quickly become one of my favorites so I'm excited that he's going to be such a prevalent character in this story. And yess! Bakugou does care about her in his own way, I do really enjoy their friendship and how they're such little shits to each other lmao.


	14. Chapter 14

Friday afternoon rolled around much quicker than Natsumi had anticipated as she stood outside of the Teacher's Lounge with her completed Internship paperwork. She had thought long and hard about her decision, combing through the list of names several times before coming to the final conclusion that Hawks was, in fact, the Hero that she wanted to intern with. His capture rate was incredible, as was his speed. He was the youngest Pro Hero in the circuit, had his own Hero Agency and place in the Top Ten by the time he was eighteen, an incredibly impressive feat in and of itself.

Natsumi wasn't the type of person to actually follow the exploits of Heroes but after reading up on the winged hero she found herself becoming more and more excited about working alongside him.

She peeked inside the teacher's lounge, seeing it mostly empty, before making a beeline for Aizawa's desk in the back. It was their lunch period so she had expected to see her homeroom teacher hiding out behind his desk, almost hoped that he would be there so she could hand in her form in person.

Her footfalls were quiet against the plush carpet as she made her way over to the desk, there was already a small stack of internship forms from her classmates starting to pile up so she quickly added hers to the top. As she turned to leave, she caught movement in her peripheries and halted mid-step, turning back around and peering over the surface of the desk. Behind it, nestled deeply into his worn-out sleeping bag, was Aizawa-sensei, perfectly as ease with sleeping on the floor.

Her lips tugged into a small smile at how peaceful he looked in his sleep, his trademark frown gone, his brows smoothed out and no longer furrowed in irritation. Natsumi bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, he looked almost like a normal guy and not at all the grumpy, unkempt mess that he typically was.

Aizawa shifted in his sleep and she panicked, not wanting to be found staring at her sleeping teacher like a creep. Natsumi quickly booked it out of the teacher's lounge, having completed her mission of returning the paperwork.

* * *

"Okay, okay. You can't keep it a secret anymore now that you've turned in your paperwork. Who are you interning with?" Ashido's knees pressed against the seat in front of the ivory haired girl, pink fingers splayed across the surface of Natsumi's desk as the curious girl leaned forward.

Natsumi glanced over to her seat mate for help, only to find that he was watching the scene unfold with a barely disguised curiosity of his own. _That's right, we never told each other who we were going with._

"You're so persistent," Natsumi laughed, turning back to her friend, "I'll be heading out to Fukuoka to intern with Hawks."

"Eh?! _Hawks_? As in the _Number Three_ Pro Hero, Hawks?!" The pink haired teen's voice rose several octaves, becoming more of a high-pitched screech that made Natsumi wince from the loudness.

Several other heads turned in their direction, now curious about the conversation with the mention of the number three top hero.

"What a coincidence, I will also be interning with Hawks for the week." Tokoyami spoke up from his seat across the room from her.

"Ah, well, guess we will be spending a lot of time together, Tokoyami-kun." Natsumi grinned, rubbing at the back of her neck, feeling slightly embarrassed by all of the attention she was suddenly receiving.

"Alright, _spill_. You totally chose him because he's a major hottie, didn't you? Don't lie to me Natsu-chan~!" Ashido wiggled her hips excitedly, leaning forward until the tip of her nose brushed against Natsumi's.

She leaned back against her chair in an attempt to put some space between her and her friend who, clearly, had no regard for personal boundaries. She let out an awkward laugh, "Mina-chan, you're literally the only one that thinks like that. I chose him for a multitude of reasons, none of which have anything to do with how attractive he is."

Ashido pouted, pulling back slightly, "That's no fun." Suddenly, a mischievous glint entered her eyes, "But you _do_ think he's attractive? _I knew it_. If you're able to sneak a pic of him to send to me that would be great. Oh, he's so _dreamy_!"

"I'll do my best." Natsumi grinned, watching as her friend's eyes lit up at the thought, seemingly satisfied with the answer she received.

"Oh! You don't have my number, here, give me your phone!" Ashido made a grabby motion with her hands, impatiently waiting for the crimson eyed teen to dig her cellphone out of her backpack. Once Natsumi found the device she handed it over without complaint, rolling her eyes as she watched the upbeat girl in front of her strike a cute pose and take a selfie, " _For my contact photo_ " she explained with a giggle.

"What! Natsu-chan you only have three numbers in here besides mine—You have _Bakugou's_ number?!" Her cry of disbelief was enough to alert the rest of the class once more and Natsumi was quick to slap her hands over her face in an attempt to hide herself from the stares of her classmates.

She heard Bakugou scoff from his seat up front, mumbling some off-color comment when Kaminari and Kirishima teased him.

"Oh! Are we exchanging numbers? In that case, here, let me put mine in too!" Kaminari was suddenly at her side, snatching the phone from Ashido and quickly typing in his digits before passing the phone along to the next person.

The next couple of minutes passed with everyone taking out their phones and passing them down the line so that everyone could input their phone numbers.

"We should make a group chat!" Hagakure squealed in excitement.

"It would be a wonderful way to help each other out with questions on class work." Yaoyorozu smiled, hands clasped together.

"There's no fucking way I'm joining some stupid ass group chat." Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms over his shoulders, "And don't think for once second that any of you losers are going to be getting my phone number either, so fuck off."

"Ah, no worries, Bakubro! I actually just copied your number from Natsu-chan's contact list." Kaminari shot the scowling blonde a teasing grin.

"Delete it now, Pikachu." Bakugou snarled, hands shooting out in an attempt to snatch Kaminari's phone from his hand.

"No way, dude!" The electric user laughed, dancing away from the explosive blonde, settling himself a safe distance away to continue to collect phone numbers.

Ashido had flitted back towards her seat again to exchange numbers with the others, leaving Natsumi to reign in her feelings about the entire ordeal. A small, tired sigh escaped her as she finally got her phone back after having it passed around, scrolling through her new, larger, contacts list and stifling a laugh at all of the cute and goofy looking selfies her classmates had taken.

A light tap on her shoulder drew her out of her thoughts and she quietly pulled herself away from her phone to meet Todoroki's hesitant gaze. He held out his phone to her, and she realized that he hadn't participated in the whole 'passing around of the phones' like the rest of the class (save for Bakugou) had.

She tilted her head, a small smile gracing her features, "Trade you?" She held out her own phone, his fingers brushing against her's as they exchanged devices, sending a jolt of electricity coursing through her from the featherlight touch.

Natsumi bit her lip, startled by the goosebumps prickling her skin all of the sudden, quickly letting her gaze drift down to the phone to enter in her contact information. She hesitated over the photo option, debating whether or not to add a contact photo of herself.

 _I did it with everyone else's phone, what's the difference in this situation? I don't want him to think I'm being weird by_ not _taking one when he literally watched me take a hundred selfies for everyone else's phones…_

In the end, Natsumi angled his phone and snapped a quick photo of herself, smiling brightly to the camera, before saving it to her contact information. She turned back to Todoroki to find his heterochromatic stare locked onto her form, his lips quirked into a small smile, cheeks tinged the lightest shade of pink.

"H-here, let me take one of you." She stumbled over her words for a moment as they handed their phones back to each other, she opened the camera on her phone and pointed it at him, "Okay, c'mon don't just sit there with a blank stare like that. Give me a smile."

He rose an amused eyebrow at her, but complied with her demands, lifting the corners of his lips into a small, soft smile at her request. She snapped the photo and showed it to him, wordlessly asking if he was okay with it. Todoroki shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and she took that as him giving her permission to save it as his contact photo.

"So, you never told me who you were going to intern with." She stowed her phone away, turning in her seat to face him, her curiosity was getting the better of her. With all those options to choose from he must have picked some amazing Hero to—

"I'll be interning under my old man." Todoroki answered, the tone of his voice somewhat chilled, giving away his true feelings towards his Pro Hero father.

Her eyes widened, jaw slack at the revelation, "Excuse me? _Why_?"

"Don't get me wrong. I hate him, nothing is going to change that, but he is the Number Two hero for a reason and I intend to use his position to my advantage and learn everything I can." He spoke evenly, his fingers subconsciously curling in his lap.

Natsumi rested her elbow against the surface of her desk, plopping her chin into the palm of her hand while letting out a thoughtful hum, "That makes sense. If I had known you were going to choose him I might have chosen him myself—ah, who am I kidding, I wouldn't have. There's no way I'd be able to keep my temper in check with him around."

His eyes snapped to her face immediately at the insinuation, "What do you mean you ' _would've chosen him'_?"

She let out a scoff, not directed at him, as the memory of seeing Endeavor's name on her list of Hero Agencies that had requested her resurfaced. Her lips downturned into a scowl, "That bastard had the audacity to put in a request for me to intern with him, can you _believe_ it?" Her voice was quiet, but harsh, so as not to draw the attention of the rest of their classmates.

Todoroki's brows dipped low, gnashing his teeth together in irritation, " _Why would he-_?" He mumbled to himself, suddenly his gaze hardened, "No, it absolutely _does_ sound like something that asshole would do, now that you mention it."

He knew his father well enough to know that he had put in a request for the girl because he wanted to demean her, put her through the wringer and make her regret every decision she had made that lead her towards the path to becoming a Hero. While Todoroki was mildly disappointed to learn of his lost chance at sharing an internship with her, he was satisfied that she had turned down his old man—she didn't deserve the type of torture that he would have put her through.

"Well, as enticing as the thought of training with you for a whole week is…I'm happy with my decision." She laughed quietly, "There's no guarantee that I wouldn't lash out and try to kill him and _that_ wouldn't be very Heroic, now would it?"

"That's probably exactly what he'd be expecting, to be honest." He answered back truthfully, his father would have wanted her to lose her temper, relinquish all control over herself and just attack him so that he'd have an excuse to put her in her place. He was a cruel man, after all, and would have no reservations about brutally beating up a young girl.

Aizawa sauntered through the door, commanding the attention of his students immediately upon his entrance, his yellow sleeping bag draped over his arm, "I know you will all be leaving Monday morning for your internships, so we decided to have one last training exercise before you all go your separate ways. Since your last trip to USJ ended in disaster before we even had the chance to teach you the proper techniques to use during a rescue mission, we will be revisiting that lesson today. This will prepare you, should you find yourself in a situation where you will need to aide in the rescue and evacuation of civilians."

The class seemed excited about the lesson, but there was an underlying air of trepidation that waited beneath the surface of their eagerness to learn something new. Afterall, their last visit to USJ had brought on a full-blown villain attack, that wasn't an event that would easily be forgotten.

"Change into you Hero costumes and meet in the courtyard. We will be boarding the bus from there." He drawled, eyes bloodshot and half-lidded as if at any moment he would have dropped from exhaustion.

* * *

Natsumi wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of returning to the USJ after having such a traumatic experience last time. Realistically, she knew that the probability of another attack was slim to none, especially with the increased security around campus since the attack. But there was still a small part of her that felt concerned, fearful even, at the thought of going back.

The USJ was the place she had had her reunion with Hibiki and Ryou, where she had almost killed Todoroki, and where she had been suspended from school. Every single memory from that place was a negative one that she wasn't ready to relive.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sounds of the girls in her class chattering amongst themselves as they donned their Hero gear and she was reminded that they were on a time limit and she, too, needed to get changed.

The metal case containing her costume felt heavy in her hands and she quickly set it against the wooden bench in the locker room, hesitantly opening the latch on the front of the case and flicking open the lid. Her eyes roamed over the fabric neatly folded inside.

Since her previous outfit had been singed by Bakugou's explosions during their first week of school and deemed unwearable, Natsumi had gone to the Support Lab and asked the students there to help her redesign her look. Her original outfit had been very simple in appearance and function, mainly due to the fact that she had never seen herself as a Hero and hadn't taken the design of her costume very seriously. Having the chance to improve her Hero gear felt like she was finally taking a step in the right direction, she was _finally_ getting serious about the path she was on.

Running a nervous hand through her unruly ivory curls, Natsumi brought her fingers down to brush against the material of her new outfit, fingers delicately tracing along the simple, yet efficient design.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Natsumi quickly pulled out the outfit and tugged it on piece by piece, starting with the muted crimson long-sleeved undershirt. The next piece of her outfit was a set of black thermal leggings that had a crimson stripe running along the outer length of her legs, she let out a soft sigh at how soft and _warm_ the material felt against her chilled skin. Her fingers wrapped around a white leather-like utility belt, pulling it out of the case and securing it around her waist, noticing that two matching pouches rested against her hips. Curiously, she unbuttoned the clasps keeping the two pouches closed, taking a peek at the medical supplies that were stuffed inside before closing the flaps once more.

She noticed two more parts to her costume still resting inside the case and eagerly pulled out a black cropped half jacket, tugging it on and admiring it. It was a black, long-sleeved coat that rested just above where her belly button would be, a hood lined with white faux fur fell against her back, a thin black string with a white pom-pom at the end of it fell on either side of her chest. Her fingers absently curled into the same white fur that accented the end of her sleeves. There was a pair of boots in that same muted red as her undershirt, thick white fur lined the rim of them, the soles were a matching white, she slipped her feet into them and wiggled her toes against the plush interior. Lastly, she pulled on a pair of black gloves to cover her chilled fingers.

"Natsu-chan, you got a new costume?" Ochako bounced over, already in her costume, and circled her friend to examine the new outfit, "I like it! I bet it'll keep you nice and warm too, is the material made to help regulate your body temperature? I know how cold you always are…"

"Damn girl, lookin' cute as hell." Ashido giggled as Natsumi did a little twirl to satisfy the needs of her other friend to see her new costume from all angles.

Turning back to answer the bubbly brunette's original question she nodded her head, "Yeah, some sort of nano-fiber technology that's meant to regulate the temperature to keep it from dropping too low—that doesn't happen often, but it's another risk of my Quirk. Also, it's water proof, which is pretty handy."

"Oh, and no more mask?" Ochako grinned, leaning forward, "Not that it didn't go well with your last costume, but your face is too cute _not_ to show off."

Warmth dusted over Natsumi's cheeks, leaving them a light pink, "I'm not interested in hiding who I am from the world, the mask _had_ to go."

"You look like an adorable little snow bunny." Ashido cooed, batting her eyelashes suggestively, "I bet the boys are gonna eat you up."

Natsumi grimaced, "Ugh, the thought of Mineta paying any more attention to me than usual is nauseating. No thanks."

The other two girls giggled, linking arms with Natsumi and leading her out of the locker room so they could meet up with the rest of their class in the courtyard where their teacher had indicated.

* * *

The three girls joined the rest of their classmates out in the courtyard, everyone huddled in their own little friend groups and chatting excitedly about the lesson in rescue they were about to receive. All former anxieties about returning to the USJ seemed to have fled from everyone as they waited for the bus to arrive.

"Oh, Natsu-chan! You have a new costume!" Midoriya bounded up to the girls, "It suits you!"

Natsumi laughed, rubbing at the back of her neck in embarrassment as half of the class turned to take in her new outfit, "Thanks, Midoriya-kun. I couldn't very well wear my old one with those burnt up sleeves, Class Rep would have my head if I did."

The bus arrived minutes later and everyone was ushered on board. Natsumi pushed Ochako down, rather roughly, into the open seat beside Midoriya, laughing as the brunette's cheeks turned bright red. _She'll thank me later._ Continuing towards the back of the bus, Natsumi found an unoccupied seat and slid into the spot closest to the window.

"You headed to the slopes?" Todoroki made himself comfortable in the seat beside her, lips pulled back into a teasing smirk.

"I will end you." She seethed through gritted teeth.

A low chuckle spilled past his lips, "In all seriousness, it looks good on you."

"All these compliments I'm getting today are going to go to my head." Natsumi laughed, lips upturned in a lopsided smile.

"As long as you don't get a Bakugou-sized ego I think we'll be fine." He retorted, causing her to let out an amused snort at the comment.

The rest of the bus ride passed without much incident, conversations sparked here and there, fluttering past her ears but not enticing enough for her to join in. She and Todoroki both settled in for the half hour ride and somewhere along the way she had decided to rest her eyes, _just for a minute_ , she reasoned with herself but quickly, quietly, slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Todoroki had drifted off shortly after their conversation had died down, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. Maybe fifteen minutes into his nap he was awoken abruptly by a pressure being applied to his shoulder, he blinked slowly, clearing away the sleep before glancing over at the girl beside him only to find that her head now rested against his shoulder.

His cheeks tinged a light shade of pink and he quickly glanced around to make sure that none of their classmates had noticed. Once satisfied that they weren't at risk for being caught, he settled back, a soft smile forming as he listened to her soft breathing that tickled the side of his neck, sending an involuntary shiver up his spine.

The rest of the ride passed with Todoroki stealing quick glances at Natsumi from the corner of his eye, too afraid to move a muscle out of fear that he'd accidentally wake the girl.

When the bus finally pulled into the parking lot of the USJ he let out a sigh of relief, his neck was starting to cramp from the position he had been sitting in. Natsumi began to stir as the vehicle came to a stop and everyone began to eagerly stampede towards the exit. Todoroki, slightly panicked, quickly leaned his head back and closed his eyes right as the ivory haired girl blearily blinked away the sleep, opening her eyes moments later and jumping back in her own panic with such a force that she smacked the back of her head against the window.

"Ahh fuuck." She groaned, wincing and holding her palm securely over the back of her head as if the pressure from that action alone would stop the painful throb.

Todoroki peaked an eye open, parting his lips in a fake yawn to really sell the idea that he had been sleeping the entire time. He glanced over at her, brows knitted in concern when he heard the _thud_ followed by her swearing, "You okay, Kurosawa?"

She reeled back, her back already pressed against the side of the bus with the back of her head against the cool glass of the window. Natsumi was already flustered over the thought of using Todoroki as a makeshift pillow, she was just glad that he had been asleep and wasn't aware of it, _Ugh how embarrassing._

"Y-yeah, no worries, Todoroki." She inwardly cringed as she stumbled over her words.

His gaze lingered on her for another moment, as if trying to decipher the truth behind her words, shaking his head lightly Todoroki slid out of the seat, glancing back over his shoulder at her, "We should catch up, the rest of the class is already inside."

"Ah, right!" The crimson eyed teen laughed sheepishly, scooting to the edge of the seat and pushing herself to her feet to follow after her friend.

The two hurried to catch up with the rest of their class, noting that Thirteen had already begun their speech.

* * *

"Today we will basically be teaching the lesson that you missed the last time you all were here. There are many aspects of being a Hero, most notably are the Rescue Operations. Keeping civilians safe and out of harms way is your number one priority, however, we know that realistically things happen that get in the way of your protection. Natural disasters, large scale villain attacks, just to name a few, and you need to be able to adapt and respond quickly to the situation and keep civilians calm." Thirteen's voice was matter of fact.

"If one person starts to panic it'll set off a chain reaction and pretty soon you've got wide spread hysteria. This makes it absolutely imperative that you swoop in and diffuse the situation as quickly and calmly as you possibly can, reassure the victims that help has arrived and everything will be just fine." Aizawa stepped in, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his baggy trousers, "Regardless if the situation is truly dire, you need to keep a smile on your face and speak confidently. If you have even an iota of doubt plaguing your mind the victims _will_ be able to sense it."

Thirteen nodded their head enthusiastically, "Right! So, for today's assignment we are going to be utilizing the different disaster zones to simulate real life events—we will have a team of injured victims and a team of Heroes who will be tasked with rescuing them."

"First round of victims will be, ah…hmm…you three~!" Thirteen pointed towards Midoriya, Natsumi, and Ochako, before turning to scan the remaining students, "The Heroes will be…you, you, and, um…you!" The Heroes selected were Bakugou, Todoroki, and Yaoyorozu.

"There's no fucking way that I'm saving shitty Deku." Bakugou snarled, fists clenched at his sides and eyes narrowed into angry slits.

Thirteen laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the volatile blonde, luckily for them Aizawa stepped in to say something.

"Being a Hero means that you have to put your personal differences aside in the line of duty—sometimes you have to work with someone you don't necessarily see eye to eye with." Aizawa drawled, eyes set on the blonde. Said blonde scoffed and quickly turned away, unable to meet his teacher's unwavering stare.

"Right this way, my victims!" Thirteen giggled, ushering the three students towards a deep ravine, the bottom of the chasm barely visible from where they were positioned, a wave of uneasiness passed between the three students as Thirteen spoke again, "You three will descend to the bottom and wait for the Heroes to rescue you. One of you will be unconscious, one will have an injured leg, and one will be in a state of panic and unable to speak."

The three victims peered over the edge of the cliffside nervously before exchanging worried glances, "Ah, Thirteen-sensei, how do we get down there?" Midoriya was the first to voice their concerns.

"You're smart, I'm sure between the three of you you can figure something out." The Pro Hero chuckled, shuffling away to brief the rest of the class.

"Natsu-chan, do you think you could use your ice to get us down?" Ochako tilted her head, turning to the ivory haired teen.

Natsumi let out a contemplative hum, glancing down into the dark depths below before reaching out and curling her fingers around both of their wrists. She pulled the two towards her, her friends letting out startled gasps before settling in beside her as she created a slide out of ice.

Once at the bottom of the chasm, she released her hold on them and deconstructed the frozen slide.

"Alright, fellow victims, who wants to be unconscious?" Ochako giggled, hands loosely placed against her cocked hip.

At that moment a loud yawn escaped Natsumi, drawing the attention of her two friends so she meekly raised her hand, "I could use a nap, I'll do it."

Midoriya let out an amused chuckle, "Alright, just don't actually fall asleep. It's filthy down here."

"Hmm, I'll be the panicked victim, Deku-kun you can be the one with the broken leg since that's right up your alley." Ochako grinned, eliciting an amused snort from Natsumi as she settled down onto the stone ground.

"A-ah, r-right." The mossy haired boy laughed sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly before getting into position by sitting down against a boulder and stretching his legs out in front of him.

The trio got as comfortable as they possibly could, given the rocky terrain they were forced to rest upon, while waiting for their saviors to come and rescue them. Ochako and Midoriya spoke quietly amongst themselves, they had tried to bring Natsumi into the conversation only to find that she had, indeed, fallen asleep.

Ochako hummed, whispering to the mossy haired boy, "I don't know how she managed to pass out like that, there's all these little rocks jabbing into me, I can't imagine falling asleep on this."

Midoriya nodded in agreement, repositioning himself for the umpteenth time after he felt his butt go numb from a combination of the ground being cold and the tiny rocks and pieces of concrete that were trying to rip through his Hero Costume. He cast a quick glance in the direction of the 'unconscious' girl, it was definitely a mystery to him how she could have gotten comfortable at all down there.

"Worry not! We're here to save you!" Yaoyorozu's gentle, yet firm, voice called down to them, "Is anyone hurt?"

Midoriya, realizing that he was the only one of them with a role that could technically speak, chirped back up to the girl, "Y-yeah. I-I think m-my leg is broken! S-someone down here seems to be unconscious and my friend here hasn't said a word since the fall, please help us!"

A loud scoff was heard, "Of course fucking _Deku_ broke his leg."

"Can you pretend to be an actual Hero for five minutes?" Todoroki's voice was laden with exasperation.

"Fuck off, Icy-Hot." Bakugou growled, "I'm already a better Hero than you'll ever be."

"Oh?" The dual colored haired boy rose an eyebrow, "Then prove it."

The blonde sneered at the challenge, but found himself unable to back down. With a determined huff, he launched himself off of the cliff, despite Yaoyorozu's cries of protest telling him he needed to be more careful so as not to disturb the victims and the unstable terrain. Todoroki rolled his eyes, not surprised by the boy's brash behavior.

He landed heavily, stirring up a cloud of dust that swirled around his boots, "Oi, gimp boy, I'm here to rescue you." Bakugou pointed at Midoriya who shrank back against the boulder he was sitting against, eyes wide with panic. Would the blonde purposefully drop him on their way up to safety? He wasn't too sure that he could trust his volatile friend and, moreover, thought that the Heroes should be prioritizing the unconscious victim. _Why is he going out of his way to rescue me specifically after making a big deal about not wanting to save me?_

Ochako exchanged a worried look with Midoriya before getting back into her character and crying loudly, unable to form words as she crawled over to the blonde and latched onto his leg.

"Oi, chipmunk, get off! Wait your turn." He growled, shaking his leg in an attempt to pry her fingers from the fabric of his costume. Ochako wailed even harder as Bakugou shook her off of him.

"Bakugou-san, wrap this around yourself and we will pull you back up." Yaoyorozu's voice carried down to him as she tossed the end of a rope down the side of the cliff.

He let out a grumble at being told what to do, but quickly snatched the rope, tying it around his waist before scooping Midoriya into his arms and giving a harsh tug on the rope to let the two up top know he was ready.

"I'm, ah, glad you took the initiative and everything Bakugou-san, but I think you should be a little more gentle with the victims. Try not to use harsh words or jostle them around too much during the rescue, you could end up furthering their injuries or inciting panic." Yaoyorozu spoke softly so as not to rile up the explosive blonde with her constructive criticism.

"I'll go next." Todoroki nodded to his two teammates.

"Wait, take this with you." Her chest glowed momentarily as a stretcher manifested itself from the lipids in her body, she handed it towards the two-tone haired boy with a smile, "We don't know what sort of injuries the unconscious victim has, better to be safe than sorry."

He nodded, turning the stretcher sideways and tucking it under his arm as he lowered himself down the side of the cliff with the rope firmly secured around his waist. He scanned the darkened cavern as his feet touched down against uneven earth, his gaze landing on a trembling Ochako, "I'm a Hero and I'm here to help. Can you speak?"

She shook her head, tears trailing down her cheeks as she bit her quivering lip.

Todoroki made his voice softer, more comforting, "I'm going to save you. I was told that someone down here was unconscious, can you show me where that person is?"

Ochako bobbed her head, momentarily breaking character as she stifled a giggle behind a mud stained hand, pointing a little further away where Natsumi had curled up in the dark against a cluster of rocks. Todoroki nodded, "Wait here, I will be right back for you."

Tiny rocks crunched beneath the soles of his boots, the only sound that echoed through the eerie silence that had befallen the dark crevice that they were in. He could just barely make out the ivory colored braid that fell over her shoulder, her back was to him and he had to step around her to assess the situation. Brows furrowed, was she…was she _actually_ asleep? Or simply taking her role as an unconscious victim very seriously? Todoroki wasn't entirely sure, but playing along with his role as a Hero, he stooped down low and placed his palm in front of her face and ensure that she was still breathing.

After he made sure the victim was still alive, he began to check her for any obvious injuries that would prevent him from being able to move her. Finding none, Todoroki set the stretcher down beside her and gently slid her onto it, mildly surprised when she didn't so much as stir in her sleep. _Just how tired is she?_

" _Hey!"_

He almost jumped, startled by the sudden sound of her alarmed voice, heterochromatic eyes landed on her still form on the stretcher, frowning when he realized she was still asleep.

" _That's my…cookie…you asshole."_ She grumbled quietly, letting out a sleepy huff.

Todoroki rose an amused brow, lips twitching into a small smirk. He bent low, removing the rope from his waist and looping it around the stretcher before dragging it slowly, carefully, behind him towards where he had left the panicked brunette.

"Stay close to me, I'm going to get both of you out of here, okay?" He spoke softly to Ochako. She nodded her head, scrambling to her feet and clinging to his side. Todoroki tugged on the rope to let Bakugou and Yaoyorozu know he was ready for them to start pulling. As the stretcher began to teeter he quickly reached out to steady it with his free hand, keeping Ochako in place beside him with his other, while creating a pillar of ice beneath their feet to slowly aide in their ascent.

As they made it topside, his two teammates quickly secured the stretcher, pulling it until it rested safely against the ground. Yaoyorozu kneeled beside the sleeping girl, brows knit in confusion, "Is she…is she really out?"

Ochako and Midoriya both exchanged glances before laughing.

"Yeah, she passed out waiting for you guys to come get us. Poor thing must be exhausted." The brunette explained.

"Oi, ice bitch, wake the fuck up you fucking slacker." Bakugou snarled, wrapping his fingers around her shoulders and giving a harsh shake. She mumbled something unintelligible, her head lolling back and forth roughly, Natsumi let out a loud groan before cracking open an eye.

Both eyes snapped open to glare heatedly at the blonde, her arms shooting up to grip at his wrists, prying his fingers off of her, "Fuck you, Boom-Boom-Boy."

He sputtered, eyebrows furrowing in irritation as he returned the glare, "Hah?! The fuck did you just call me?!"

"Oh, I took the liberty of coming up with your new Hero Name since your previous attempts were shit." Natsumi leaned back, using her palms to prop herself in a sitting position, lips stretched into a cheeky grin.

"Like hell I'd ever let you pick a name for me, you uncreative cunt." He spat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I dunno, man." Kaminari chuckled, sidling up next to the explosive blonde, "She pretty much nailed it with the name."

"Yeah, dude. It totally fits." Kirishima grinned teasingly, winking at Natsumi in his own subtle way to let her know he was playing along, "Much more manly than King Explosion Murder. But what _isn't_ manly, is calling Natsu-chan such a horrible name."

Natsumi shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say she wasn't bothered by the vulgar nickname. She was used to it by now and honestly didn't take offense to anything Bakugou said anymore.

Bakugou growled, seething, "I'll kill all of you, you fucking extras!"

"That's not very heroic." Todoroki chided.

"Please, can't we all just get along?" Yaoyorozu sighed in exasperation.

Natsumi and Bakugou bickered back and forth for a few more minutes before Thirteen and Aizawa pulled some other classmates away so they could try their hand at the rescue mission. This went on for another twenty minutes or so until everyone had had a chance to either play the role of a victim or a Hero. During that time, the two teachers had offered tips and advice on how to properly tackle the task.

"Okay, now that you've had a taste of rescue, we're going to spice things up a bit! The next part of today's training is going to be a race to see who can rescue the most victims in the allotted time! We will choose four of you to play the role of the Heroes while the remainder of the class will hide, _anywhere_ in the Urban disaster zone. Don't make things too easy for the Heroes, keep in mind that in real life situations sometimes civilians are trapped, unconscious, and unresponsive in places that are harder to access." Thirteen went on, gesturing to the wide expanse of city scape that the students had full access to, "I'm going to hand select eight victims who will be unable to speak, so for my Heroes it will be your duty to be thorough in your search for your fellow classmates because some of them will not be able to call out for help to alert you to their whereabouts."

"Ah! We're playing hide and seek!" Ashido cheered.

"Essentially, yes!" Thirteen laughed.

Thirteen then designated Midoriya, Bakugou, Ochako, and Mineta as the Hero team. Bakugou physically bristled at the thought of having to work on a team with Midoriya, gnashing his teeth together in protest, fists clenched angrily at his sides.

"This means it'll be totally acceptable for my hands to wander and roam the beautiful curves of every woman that I rescue. I'll carry them to safety and get to feel every inch of their—"

"—you're not allowed to carry anyone." Midoriya interjected with a grimace.

Mineta visibly deflated, completely missing how every female in the class let out a sigh of relief.

Shortly after, the victims were given a head start to go find their hiding spots while the four Heroes huddled up to talk strategy—well, _three_ Heroes, as Bakugou made it very clear that he would not be working together with _Deku_.

Natsumi found herself in a quiet, secluded part of the dilapidated city, walking quickly but carefully enough to avoid stepping on any sharp debris that littered the streets. A building loomed in front of her and, quickly glancing behind herself to make sure she wasn't being followed, she took off towards it.

She climbed the decrepit staircase, taking the steps two at a time, sometimes three when there was a missing step. Her goal was to be high enough to have enough of a vantage point to be able to tell if someone was coming, but low enough to be able to safely jump from the window if need be.

The teen stopped on one of the middle floors of the building, exploring room by room. _Yūei really went all out with making things seem realistic_ , she mused, fingers brushing against a photo frame hanging on the wall, the picture inside was old and gray, burns marked the edges of it. The actual picture was undiscernible, whatever blast that had broken the glass of the frame must've also been responsible for destroying the photo inside as well.

She went room from room, searching for a place to lay low and wait for the Heroes to come find her, silently praying to whatever God above that it wouldn't be Mineta to find her.

Natsumi shuffled through a low hanging doorway, dead electrical wires hung from the ceiling of this new room that she entered. She was about to turn and head into another area of the building when the wide, open window and the view below caught her attention. Curiously, she strode forward, stopping just in front of the window frame, her boots crunching against broken glass.

A small gasp escaped her parted lips, "This is…"

" _You can come down now, it's her." He called over his shoulder as a second body appeared in the shadows behind the window pane._

" _Oh man, I felt like I was up there forever!" The second boy groaned, rubbing the back of his neck before lifting his arms high above his head in a stretch. He leapt from the window and landed in a crouch before straightening up and sauntering towards them confidently._

It was the exact same perch that Hibiki had been hiding behind, waiting to make his entrance, all those weeks ago during her first visit to the USJ. Her eyes glazed over, staring down at the battle field below, seeing but not seeing at the same time as the events replayed in her mind. She could see herself down below, Bakugou and Kirishima frozen to their spots, the Nomu—Todoroki—everything came rushing back to her in that one instant.

It was all too much.

She wanted to forget. All those negative memories, all the fear she felt that day intensified, all of it flooded her senses and all she could do in the moment, _this very moment_ , was fall to her knees and give in to the anguish she felt.

 _I almost killed him._

 _He almost_ died _because of me._

Fingers curled around broken glass, not caring that the shards dug into her palms and her knees, creating small cuts that began to bleed freely. She was no longer living in the present, Natsumi was stuck in the past reliving her failures and shortcomings over and over again as if the bad memories, and _only_ the bad ones, were stuck on a loop.

Maybe Todoroki had forgiven her, but she had never truly forgiven herself. She was afraid to admit to her new found friends that she still had nightmares from that day, replaying scenes in her mind of what _could_ have happened had Bakugou not called out to her, breaking Ryou's spell.

"Get ahold of yourself, Natsu." She mumbled, blinking against the moisture that had formed at the corners of her eyes. Absently, she brought the back of her hand up to wipe at her face, smearing tears, blood, and dirt against her cheeks in the process.

In the distance a cloud of dust and debris billowed high in the sky, she squinted her eyes to get a better view and realized that it was the wake from Iida's quirk. _What's got him all in a tizzy? He's supposed to be hiding…_

Bits and pieces of her class rep's alarmed cries floated through the broken window but her mind went into panicked overdrive as the word 'villain' passed by her ears. Her fists clenched tightly, the glass poking into her palms splintered and shattered into tiny shards that embedded themselves further into her flesh but she didn't care. Adrenalin pumped through her, completely overshadowing the pain she felt.

 _It's happening again._

 _Just like last time._

 _They've come to finish the job_.

"He's got Todoroki-kun!" The distorted voice of one of her classmates screamed, and in her panicked haze she was unable to tell who exactly had uttered those words but it was enough to pull her out of her daze.

Natsumi blinked back the tears that had been freely falling, now realizing that she had been physically trembling in a combination of fear and anger. Crimson eyes briefly glanced down to her hands, unclenching her fists and stretching out her fingers, wincing as pain shot up her arms. She picked out the larger shards of glass from both palms and what was sticking into her knees through her leggings, deciding that the smaller pieces could wait for later. She needed to move. She wouldn't allow things to progress as far as they had last time. She was going to save Todoroki.

Pushing herself to her feet, Natsumi drew in a deep breath before vaulting out of the window, landing in a crouch below. She steadied herself on her feet, taking off in the direction that Iida had come from in hopes of running into the villain he had been running from.

* * *

She made it to the center of the destroyed city, finding that a majority of her classmates had already gathered there, staring at the looming figure that stood atop the roof of a car. He was intimidatingly large and muscular, his build rivaling that of All Might's, a spiked gas mask covered his face. The man let out a dark chuckle, carelessly swinging Todoroki's unconscious body around as if it were a ragdoll.

"Sensei!" Ojiro ran towards where Thirteen and Aizawa had previously been stationed, supervising over the exercise, only to cry out in shock as he found both of them on the ground, unmoving.

"I took extra care to dispose of those pathetic heroes first." The villain's voice was heavy, sounding almost gravelly through the mask covering his face.

Iida waved his arms to get his classmates attention, "Everyone! We must escape and alert the school!"

A foreboding laugh rumbled from deep within the chest of the villain, "Ah-uh. I will not allow you to escape, I am here to finish you all!" With a mighty stomp of his foot, a powerful gust of wind ricocheted across the cityscape, demolishing every building in its wake.

As the dust and smoke from the attack cleared away, everyone gasped at the sheer power that had been behind his attack.

"What?! How is he so strong?!" Kaminari cried out in alarm.

"Now that the terrain is clear I can focus on taking you out, Hero trash." The villain taunted.

"You seem to have forgotten that you're outnumbered here, scumbag." Natsumi growled, lips twisted into a cocky smirk. Sure, this villain seemed overpowered and he had the leverage of Todoroki's body under his arm, but her classmates were also strong. She was confident that together they could take this guy down.

The villain turned, as if seeing her for the first time and let out a chilling laugh, "You know, you're the spitting image of your father. He and your mother had that same nasty, overconfident attitude." He wagged his finger at her tauntingly, "They'd be awfully disappointed if they could see you now, defending Hero scum, fighting alongside them as if you belong amongst them."

Her breath hitched in her throat at his words and the implication that he may have known her parents personally. She shook her head, eyes narrowed, _he's just trying to get under my skin, get a rise out of me, don't trust anything he says,_ "Yeah? That's rich, considering they're buried six feet under while I'm still here, standing tall. Clearly, I did something right by deviating from the path they had laid out for me and, while I owe you absolutely nothing, I'll show you how strong my resolve to become a Hero truly is, asshole!"

Rime began to form around the soles of her boots, her breath plumed out in a chilled cloud in the air in front of her.

Bakugou came forward to stand beside her, his lips pulled back into a maniacal smirk, "Enough talking, I'm going to fucking obliterate you!" His fingers curled into fists as he surged forward at the exact same moment that Natsumi decided to begin her attack.

Both teens were very conscious of each other, wordlessly coming up with a plan to attack the villain from opposing sides to try and overwhelm him. Bakugou shot out from the villain's left side, setting off a series of strong explosions in rapid succession while Natsumi attacked from the right, a dagger of ice gripped firmly in her hand while a wave of frozen spikes rushed towards her target. Both students were very aware of Todoroki's unconscious body, taking extra precaution to strike around him in order to avoid accidentally hitting him with an attack.

The blonde continued his explosive assault, various grunts and swears escaping him as he attacked the large villain. The villain had stomped his foot in retaliation to Natsumi's attack, shattering the wave of ice and sending shards flying through the air, but she was quick to counter by ducking low, swinging her arm out to plunge the frozen weapon in her hand into the villain. The man chuckled, bringing his elbow down just in time to collide against the top of her skull.

Natsumi stumbled back a few paces, fingers splayed against her throbbing head, teeth gnashing together in irritation.

"It's over!" The villain declared, swinging his large fist back and preparing to knock Bakugou back with it, but the blonde was too quick and vaulted over the man, landed behind him and letting off a rather powerful explosion.

The force of the attack had the villain stumbling forward, Bakugou took a moment to jump back towards his classmates before shouting a command at Iida, "Oi, get those weaklings to run away while I take care of this guy."

The dark-haired boy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and groaned, "Do you _always_ have to be so insulting? We're your classmates."

"Don't be such a twat, Bakugou." Natsumi growled, pulling herself to her feet after letting loose another barrage of attacks on the villain, disappointed that the man didn't seem to take any real damage despite her best efforts. Even Bakugou's explosions, while grand and powerful, had only managed to inconvenience the man's balance.

"Oi, Bakugou! Who're you calling weaklings?" Kirishima rose an eyebrow as he appeared next to Yaoyorozu on a slab of concrete that jutted out behind the blonde. The rest of their classmates emerged from behind the sharp toothed red-head, all sporting looks of determination.

"We're the students of class 1-A." Yaoyorozu placed her palms against her cocked hip.

"We will _all_ be heroes!" Ochako declared, fists clenched.

"My, my, how brave. However…" The villain used his free hand to conjure a powerful gust of energy that dislodged several loose boulders from the ground, sending the debris hurtling towards the group of students.

"I got this!" Aoyama struck a flamboyant pose, shooting his naval laser at the large rocks and effectively destroying several of them while Kirishima hardened his fists and took out a few more before they had the chance to make impact with their classmates.

The next couple of minutes blended together in a blur of motion as everyone came together to use their special attacks all at once to overwhelm and take down their enemy. Jirou's ear jacks plugged into the amp in her boots, blasting a heart stopping wave of energy towards the man at the same time Yaoyorozu created a cannon, firing a heavy netting at the villain.

Natsumi took that as her chance, while the villain was distracted with his capture, struggling against the confines of the netting, she turned herself intangible and snuck forward. Crimson eyes locked on to her target, never once leaving his body as she crept closer and closer, her fingers stretched out in front of her, the villain completely oblivious to her invisible advances. She held her breath as her hand phased through the netting that held the villain in place, re-solidifying the appendage long enough for her fingers to grasp tightly around Todoroki's arm before turning intangible completely once more…this time taking the boy with her.

She pulled him through the netting and held him close to her, backing away from the villain in their invisible state just as the enemy flexed his muscles and ripped himself free from his bindings. He growled out, "Where is he?! Who took him?!" Wildly whipping his head back and forth and stomping his heavy feet against the ground, causing a surge of energy to push everyone back from the sheer force of it.

Natsumi didn't dare turn them visible again, not while they were still in close enough proximity for the villain to take back his hostage. She couldn't risk Todoroki getting taken again, she would protect him because she knew that if the roles were reversed, he'd do the same for her, or for any of their classmates for that matter.

"I'll keep you safe." She whispered quietly, more to herself as she knew he likely couldn't hear her in his unconscious state. Natsumi wasn't very strong physically, though she had gained muscle mass since starting at U.A, she wasn't strong enough to actually carry the boy who was almost a foot taller than she was so she settled for gently, slowly, dragging him as far from the rampaging villain as she could. She needed to distance themselves from the danger before she could release her Quirk.

"Don't worry about that, your fight's with us, asshole." Bakugou snarled, launching into another explosive attack.

"Now that Todoroki-kun is out of the way we can go all out with our fighting." Kirishima smirked, readying his hardened fists.

Natsumi pulled him far enough away from the battle, ducking behind a large upturned slab of concrete that would keep them hidden from the villain's searching gaze. She deactivated her Quirk, leaning Todoroki's body up against the concrete, crouching low and checking him over for any injuries that may have needed immediate attention.

"Not sure how you let yourself get caught off guard like that." She mused quietly, "You're the best in the class."

His lips twitched, so subtly that it was almost imperceptible.

Crimson eyes narrowed.

"Todoroki." Her voice came out dry, almost sounding like a low irritated growl, her left eye twitched, "You're such an asshole."

He peeked open one eye, lips splitting into a smirk, "Sorry, it wasn't my idea, but it all worked out in the end." He nodded his head towards the battle that was raging on mere yards away from them, "They're all working together towards a common goal."

She peered over her shoulder as the fight came to a head, the villain was captured and was seconds away from being blown to smithereens by a point-blank explosion-until the enemy revealed himself to be All Might. Natsumi let out a loud, audible groan, "I should've fucking known, and _you_ —" She turned back to the two-tone haired boy, glaring accusatorily at him, "—I can't believe you let me struggle dragging your ass all the way over here."

"I was in character." He shrugged.

"Unbelievable." She narrowed her eyes, running a hand through her damp bangs.

Todoroki's soft, teasing, expression fell almost instantly when he glanced up and got a good look at her. Blood and dirt were smeared across her cheeks, caked on and flaking, but when she brought her fingers up to run them through her hair, he noticed the new, bright streaks of red that stuck to her white curls. His gaze momentarily dropped to his own uniform, noting the crimson handprints staining his costume from where she had held him.

"Kurosawa." He placed a palm against the concrete at his back, using it as leverage to pull himself to his feet before closing the short distance between the two of them. Turbulent turquoise and stormy grey eyes softened in concern, taking in the rough shape of her hands that she had completely forgotten about in her adrenalin infused state. He leaned towards her, absently taking one of her hands in his own, turning it over to inspect the damage done to her palms. The sun glinted off tiny shards of, what he assumed was, glass stuck in the bloody mess of her hand.

His questioning gaze shot up to meet her's, "What happened? Did this happen while you were fighting All Might?" A sudden jolt of guilt shot through him at the thought of her having been injured while trying to save him from a faux villain.

Natsumi pulled her hand out of his grasp, cradling it gingerly against her chest, averting her eyes from his unwavering stare. Now that the adrenalin coursing through her had fizzled out she could feel the stinging pain in her hands and knees.

"No, it was before that." She spoke finally, "It doesn't matter, I'll just pay a visit to Recovery Girl before heading home and I'll be good as new." She plastered on a reassuring smile, his chest clenched at the sight of it—of how _fake_ it was. He furrowed his brows and parted his lips to call her out on it but was interrupted by their classmates calling out to them.

"So that's where you disappeared to!" Sero grinned, several of their classmates peered over the cement slab at them after having searched the immediate area for the duo.

"That rescue was super manly, Natsu-chan!" Kirishima pumped his fists, grinning at her.

"Though, I still can't believe Todoroki-kun was in on All Might's ruse this whole time!" Ochako lamented, a sigh escaping her, "But you were really cool, Natsu-chan, because you got him out of danger we were able to go all out and beat up All Might!"

Natsumi tipped her chin, turning to face her friends with a small smile, "Ah, yeah, well I'm just glad that it was all a simulation and not an actual attack."

"Though…does that also mean…?" Midoriya glanced over his shoulder to where their teachers had previously laid unconscious, jumping slightly when Aizawa and Thirteen both appeared a few feet behind him.

"Well done, everyone!" Thirteen exclaimed, clapping their hands together, "You were able to come together as a team to strategize against and defeat our villain!"

Aizawa nodded, half of his face obscured by the wrappings of his capture weapon, but his voice was clear as day, "You all did better than I expected. You quickly concluded that the best way to turn the tides of the battle was to rescue the hostage, good job Kurosawa." His dark, praising gaze landed on her briefly before flitting over the rest of the students, "After reassessing the situation, you were able to come up with a sensible battle plan that utilized everyone's talents without relying on one person solely—" His eyes quickly shot to Bakugou, who looked away, "—and even though the villain was lightyears ahead of you in terms of strength, you were able to outwit him and take him down."

Everyone beamed at the high praise from Aizawa, knowing that he wasn't one to just hand out compliments.

Though, several of the teens continued to shoot annoyed glares over Aizawa's shoulder towards All Might, who grinned sheepishly.

"Don't be like that, young zygotes!" The Symbol of Peace chuckled, hands on his hips, "We saw an opportunity to teach you a valuable lesson on teamwork and we took it."

"Yeah but…don't you think this was kind of in poor taste after what happened the last time we were here?" Sero's lips pulled back into a small frown, several of his classmates nodded their heads in agreement.

"I admit that…maybe I went a little overboard here, but it was a learning experience that you otherwise wouldn't have gotten from a regular training simulation. You needed to feel the urgency of the situation, feel as if your friends' lives were at risk, the reactions you had were one-hundred percent real." He beamed brightly, "Today, you were all real Heroes."

* * *

Bam! Another chapter down! Next chapter will start their internships, I'm super excited to get to write for my boy Hawks. He's my favorite Pro Hero, after all! Lol.

I know this training exercise actually took place earlier in the series but I figured I'd add it in anyway and this seemed like a perfect time for them to learn a little rescue training before their internships started.

And Natsu debuted her new hero costume! I have a couple of art pieces of her in her Hero costume up on my writing blog **rynxenvy .tumblr. com** under the " **My OCs** " tab if you're interested!

Did you guys go see Heroes Rising?! I saw it twice opening weekend and holy shit it was amazing I cannot wait until it's out on dvd so I can watch it a hundred more times. The entire time I was sitting in the theater imagining what Natsumi would be doing at each part in the movie, I can't wait to incorporate it (much later, obviously) into the story haha.

I want to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed last chapter! Seriously, your reviews are what motivate me to sit down and write and do my absolute best to get chapters out as quickly as I possibly can so please keep them coming! (:

 **Fajangled** Ahhh! Thank you so much, seriously that is such an amazing compliment. I try so hard to tell her story, but still keep things flowing in a way that she isn't overshadowing everyone else in the class and I've been working on going more in depth into the relationships she's formed with her classmates, it's a slow process, and definitely a little difficult keeping up with so many characters that's for sure lol

 **Bbymojo** Oh there's going to be much more Shinsou in the future, he's my precious little purple boy! I'm really looking forward to him being in the show more in the future, seriously he's one of my absolute favorite underrated characters lol! He and Natsu getting closer will definitely light a fire under Todoroki's ass, that's for sure!


	15. Chapter 15

Natsumi gripped the handle of the metal briefcase that housed her Hero Costume tightly as she strode towards the platform to wait for her train. She and Tokoyami were probably going to be going the farthest in terms of distance for their internship with Fukuoka being on the opposite end of the country. She was not looking forward to the five-and-a-half-hour train ride to their destination, Natsumi wasn't very good at sitting still.

A rolling suitcase teetered along behind her, her fingers wrapped loosely around the extended handle, crimson eyes scanning the crowded station before her gaze landed on several familiar figures up ahead. Her lips split into an eager smile as she picked up her pace to catch up to her classmates.

They had been instructed to all meet up to be debriefed before being sent their separate ways, it would be the last time any of them would see each other for an entire week. It was a bittersweet feeling. She had spent the last two months with her classmates, in that time she had found herself forming close relationships with the majority of them and she was going to miss them severely.

 _Don't be such a baby. You have their numbers. You all promised to keep in contact._ She chided herself.

"Natsu-chan!" Ochako called out, waving her over excitedly.

Natsumi met up with her friend, setting her briefcase down next to her suitcase so she could wrap her arms around the bubbly brunette, "You excited, Ochako-chan?"

"Mhm!" The brunette bobbed her head eagerly, "Though, I am going to miss you and everyone…"

"Yeah, it's definitely going to be weird not seeing you guys every day…" The ivory haired teen admitted.

"At least you have Tokoyami-kun!"

"That's true, having a familiar face there alongside me will help with my homesickness I'm sure." Natsumi laughed, though she wasn't sure how much company her male companion would really be during their time together. They hadn't really interacted much during their time at school aside from a few spoken words here and there. He didn't really seem like much of a conversationalist, he preferred solitude. She could understand that sentiment though, that's how she had been for the longest time, but that was also before she had made friends. Now that she had formed bonds with people like Ochako and Mina she was more outgoing and better at putting herself in situations that required her to step out of her comfort zone.

"You all have your costumes, right?" Aizawa strode towards the group of students already waiting for him, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his baggy jeans, chin dipped down into the folds of the capture weapon wrapped loosely around his neck, "Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public unless you're under the supervision of a Pro Hero. Don't do anything reckless like dropping or losing your costumes."

Ashido squealed out a, "Yessir!" Pink fingers wrapped firmly around the sides of her metal case, exuberantly jumping in the air. She couldn't wait to start her internship and kick some bad guy ass, while also looking fashionable and cute in her costume!

Their teacher's bloodshot gaze landed on the golden eyed, pink skinned girl, his lips drawn into a thin line, "Speak clearly, it's 'Yes Sir!', Ashido."

Her grin faltered and she visibly deflated, "Yes sir."

Tearing his bloodshot eyes away from Ashido, the disheveled Erasure Hero turned to address the entire class, his voice firm, "Make sure to mind your manners with the heroes at your internships! Now, off with you." He turned on his heel and shuffled off towards the exit, he was a busy man and had a plethora of responsibilities he needed to get back to as well as his own protégé to start training.

The teens slowly began to disperse as their trains pulled up to the station, turning to give their friends heartfelt goodbyes and wishes of good luck and promises to keep in touch during their internships. Soon enough there was only a handful of class 1-A left on the platform, waiting for their trains to arrive.

"You ready for our departure? The train should be arriving shortly, Kurosawa." Tokoyami sidled up next to her, his eyes never once leaving the train tracks as he waited for their train to arrive.

She jumped at his sudden appearance, "I am—Oh! Shit, no, actually I have something to do really quick. Mind watching my things for a second?"

He nodded quietly, quirking a curious brow as she unzipped the front pouch of her suitcase and pulled out a small, white cardboard box before zipping the bag back up and rushing off down the platform.

 _You better still be here…_ She grumbled to herself, upset that she had almost forgotten her own personal mission for the day.

After scanning the crowded railway station for a few moments, she finally spotted her intended target, a sigh of relief ghosted over her lips.

"Oi, Boom-Boom-Boy!" Natsumi called out, lips pulled back into a teasing grin as crimson met with angry carmine.

"The fuck did I say about calling me that, ice bitch?!" The ash blonde snarled, taking a step forward in what he thought was a threatening manner.

She hummed, ignoring his irritated response, her fingers fidgeting with the small box in her hand, "I know I texted you a 'happy birthday' on the day and all but I felt a little bad about not getting you anything. I just feel like I've been on autopilot for the last couple of weeks so….ah, _here_." Words flew past her lips, half mumbled to herself as she apologized, before she shoved the little white box into his hands.

"Hah?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her, holding the box at an arm's length away from himself as if whatever that was inside would jump out and attack him. "The fuck are you going on about? What did you do?"

Natsumi rolled her eyes, "I made you something, idiot."

"Why?" He scrunched up his face.

She let out an exasperated huff, "Because it was your birthday last week. You know, for being at the top of the class you're not very bright."

Bakugou narrowed his eyes at the insult, "You want to fucking die, princess?"

Her shoulders dropped nonchalantly, "Sometimes. Not today though."

He furrowed his brows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She waved him off dismissively, "Ah, don't worry about it. Just enjoy, okay? I know you're not a big sweets person so I kept your tastes in mind when making those for you."

Bakugou narrowed his eyes at her, mulling over her previous statement before flipping open the lid of the pastry box in his hand. Inside were tiny balls of chocolate, about two dozen of the little confectionary treats were piled on top of each other.

"They're not super sweet, but I think they're pretty good. They're raspberry jalapeno chocolates! Dark chocolate as the base with a homemade raspberry jalapeno jam on the inside." Her lips stretched into a lopsided smile.

"I didn't ask for some shitty candy." He grumbled, cheeks dusted a very faint pink.

She let out a small hum, shrugging her shoulders, "No, but that's what you got. So, enjoy!"

Bakugou furrowed his brows, watching as she turned on her heel and ran back towards where Tokoyami was waiting for her. Absently, his fingers dug into the box of homemade chocolates, he pulled one out and examined it for a moment—smooth, dark chocolate with flecks of red (pepper flakes of some sort?) intermingled here and there. He popped it into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, relishing in the way the bitter chocolate complemented the subtle sweetness of the raspberry and the spice from the jalapenos.

He narrowed his eyes at her from afar, hating how she had known exactly what type of treat he would appreciate the most. He snapped the lid of the box shut, shoving it into his duffel bag and tearing his eyes away from the girl as his train arrived.

* * *

"Our journey is about to begin, are you ready?" Tokoyami watched her fidget with the hem of her school blazer nervously. It was a curious action that made him wonder what on earth she could possibly be feeling anxious about. He hadn't had many chances to speak with her since the start of the school year, he had preferred to keep more to himself than to branch out and attempt to make friends with his classmates. But, from what he had observed of the girl she had always seemed rather confident in her actions, at least to him.

Was she nervous about training under the Number Three Hero? He had to admit that he was a little on edge at having to step out of his comfort zone, but his own eagerness far outweighed the negative thoughts and feelings.

Natsumi snapped out of her thoughts, focusing her attention on the boy standing beside her, "As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

"From what I have gathered, Hawks has never taken interest in having an intern, let alone two of them. This will be the first time he has ever requested anyone from the Sports Festival." The boy revealed, just that fact alone was enough to send another wave of panic coursing through her.

 _The pressure is on, I hope I can live up to Hawks' expectations._ She thought with a grimace.

"Well," She started, eyes flickering with uncertainty, "that definitely makes me feel a little overwhelmed, not going to lie. But, I think that that just means that we're a lot better than we originally thought. I mean, if the Number Three Hero took an interest in us then that's gotta be worth something, right?"

He regarded her for a moment, his dark gaze trailing down to her hands, trembling ever so slightly at her sides, before shooting his stare back up to her face. Tokoyami nodded his head in agreement. He knew what it was like to feel uncertain in his own abilities, especially with a creature as volatile and unpredictable as Dark Shadow living within him. He was looking forward to a day when he no longer feared for the safety of others when the darkness around him was so dense, when he could fully control the dark spirit that inhabited his body. Training with Hawks was a step in the right direction in learning to have better control over his other half, that much Tokoyami was certain of.

"Let's go, Tokoyami-kun." Her lips were drawn back into a small smile as their train came to a screeching stop in front of them, doors sliding open and bodies rushing out around them.

The boy nodded, fingers gripping the handle of his own suitcase as he followed the ivory haired teen into the train car.

* * *

"Okay, okay. I got a good one." Her lips pulled back into a mischievous grin, "You're never gonna guess this one."

"We'll see about that." Came his response, an underlying tone of amusement dancing on the edge of his voice.

" _I spy_ something absolutely hideous." Natsumi smirked, leaning back in her seat proudly.

He furrowed his brows, opening his mouth to protest her words before closing it just as quickly, Tokoyami let out a small sigh before glancing up at the beaming girl across from him, "Kurosawa, that's not how the game is played. You can't just spy an opinion of an object that you see, it has to be an actual— _oh_ , I see." A light chuckle rumbled deep within his chest, "Is it that man's toupee?"

Natsumi teetered on the edge of her seat, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she absolutely lost it, her laughter rang out through the train car. Maybe it was because she was exhausted, having not gotten a good night's rest in ages, that made everything, even the smallest things absolutely hysterical to her. But, she wasn't wrong in her opinion of the stranger's faux hair—it was absolutely atrocious and was very obvious that it wasn't his real head of hair.

"I spy…." Tokoyami's words drifted off as he searched their immediate surroundings for inspiration, his dark eyes settling on the scenery whizzing past them out of the window that he leaned against, "something green."

Ruby red eyes narrowed and she let out an amused huff, " _Is it a tree_? I sure hope it's not because that would be the third time you've _spied_ one, Tokoyami-kun."

He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the worn fabric of the seat against his back as he did so, "It's not like there are many options left after playing for the last hour, Kurosawa."

She let out a loud groan, knowing that he was right but not wanting to admit it out loud. She was struggling to pass the time, coming up with silly children's games to try and do so, but there were only so many different things that they could 'spy with their little eye' when trapped in a tiny train car with the same scenery passing by.

Natsumi had always had trouble staying still for too long. In class, she was almost always moving some part of her body, be it her foot tapping against the tiled floor, her fingers drumming against her desk, or moving her head side to side in tune to a silent rhythm. They were only a little over an hour and a half into their almost six hour journey and she was beginning to go stir crazy, especially now that their game had ended and she had nothing left to occupy her wandering mind with.

"I happened to bring a couple of novels with me if you would like to borrow one." He mentioned as he dug through the backpack seated next to him, pulling out three different books and holding them out to her.

Natsumi leaned forward across their shared space, eyes roaming over the covers of each book and noting, while an amused chuckle, that all three books looked eerily similar to one another.

"I'm sensing a theme here." She grinned, tapping her finger against the book that he held in the center of the three, gripping the edges and gently pulling it forward, "I will say, though, that you have good taste. I'm a sucker for a good mystery."

"A good thriller should be enough to keep your mind occupied for the remainder of our ride." He spoke evenly, choosing a book for himself and stowing the last one away once more.

Natsumi eyed him for a moment longer, a little perturbed that he had read her as easily as the book gripped loosely between his fingers. But he was right, she needed something to busy herself with if she ever hoped to survive the long journey to Fukuoka.

So, with that thought in mind, Natsumi leaned her back against the cool glass of the window, stretching her legs out on the seat in front of her before propping open the book in her lap.

* * *

After almost six hours of sitting on the train, they had finally reached their destination, much to Natsumi's excitement. She had plowed through the novel that her companion had let her borrow, at one point she had started pacing the train car just so she could get up and do _something_. But after fifteen minutes of that, and receiving a multitude of annoyed glances from the other passengers, she had settled back down in her seat with a bored pout.

"Fresh air!" She nearly gasped, taking in a deep breath of the cool, crisp afternoon air as soon as she hopped off of the train and her feet touched the platform. The train car had been stuffy and a little humid with strange smells wafting towards them every time a passenger stood up and walked by.

"I think you're being a little overdramatic here." Tokoyami chuckled, following her off of the train with his own suitcase in tow.

She halted in her actions at his comment, her arms dropped down to her side as she peered over at the boy, "I think I'm being just the right amount of dramatic."

"You are a strange one, aren't you?" He rose one brow high above the other.

Natsumi took no offense to his comment, realizing that he was the type of guy to say things matter-of-factly but without any sort of malice to his words. She could appreciate that.

Her shoulders hitched before falling in a nonchalant manner, "Yeah, but being normal is vastly overrated anyway."

Tokoyami let out an amused snort, but otherwise kept quiet as the two teens made their way towards the exit. They had been given explicit instructions to wait outside of the train station, from there a car would arrive for them to take them to Hawks' Agency. So, that's exactly what the two teens did.

After a mere minute and a half of waiting by the curb of the street for their ride, Natsumi began to sway back and forth on the balls of her feet anxiously. This continued for another five minutes where she would alternate between swaying back and forth and tapping her foot against the sidewalk.

"You know, patience is a virtue." Tokoyami's solemn voice interrupted her own thoughts, bringing her actions to a halt as she angled her chin to the side to look at her companion.

Her lips pulled back into a lazy smirk, "I've never been a very virtuous person, I'm sure you've realized that by now."

He hummed contemplatively, "Even so, patience plays a key role in performing your duties as a Hero—"

"—Okay, okay. I get it, I'll work on it, _mom_." She let out a loud groan in response to his comment.

Realistically speaking, she knew that she needed to work on a lot of things, patience and her ability to focus being two of the major offenders that she needed to improve on. In the heat of battle, she knew that her ability to focus on the task at hand and get what needed to be done _done_ was pretty spot on—but, outside of a fight? It was pretty dismal.

A bright and shiny red car pulled up to the curb in front of the two, the window rolled down to reveal a young woman, fingers loosely gripped around the steering wheel as she peered out at the two teens.

"Oi, are you Tokoyami Fumikage and Kurosawa Natsumi?" Her voice was soft, like the tinkling of windchimes. She observed the two teens from her spot in the driver's seat, bright glacial blue eyes crinkling at the corners with unspoken mirth.

"That we are."

"That's us!"

The two paused, glancing over at each other the moment their own words left their mouths, intermingling in the air simultaneously. The stranger let out a giggle, "Well, great! I'm Kestrel, one of Hawks' sidekicks. Hop in and let's get this show on the road, yeah?"

The two teens exchanged a look of uncertainty. The girl, Kestrel, didn't look much older than them—was it even legal for her to be driving? Resigning themselves to putting their lives in the hands of the young girl behind the wheel, they loaded the trunk of the car up with their luggage before sliding into the backseat of the car.

"So~!" Kestrel began as she peeled out of the parking lot, oblivious to the teens practically being sucked into the back seat of the car from the sheer speed at which she was driving. Natsumi and Tokoyami attempted to sit up, only to be slammed back against the back seat once more as Kestrel's lead foot pressed harder against the gas pedal.

"To be honest with ya, we were all a little surprised when Hawks decided to put in a request for you two—well, I mean, not _because_ it was you two, you were both _amazing_ —but because he's never actually taken an interest in hosting any interns." She spoke quickly, her words jumbled together and it took a lot of concentration on Natsumi's part to pay attention and digest everything that the sidekick was saying, "Though, after rewatching the footage from the Sports Festival it was pretty easy to see why he'd be interested. You were both powerhouses in your own right, both of you were super strong and fast. Tokoyami-san, you were incredibly clever with your strategies to take down your opponent, your strong intellect was definitely on display and made you an easy choice. Kurosawa-san, you were incredibly badass—you went all out against the explosion guy, we were all on the edge of our seats watching that fight. And how you tried to continue fighting after being impaled? _Damn_ girl, that's the kind of perseverance needed for being a Hero."

Natsumi felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment, truth be told, she didn't know when to quit and hated to lose, especially to someone like Bakugou. Because of that she had been scolded for her lack of self-preservation by Recovery Girl, though Natsumi wasn't sure how strongly she would take those words to heart should the situation arise where she needed to put her all into a fight again.

"Ah, that's such high praise, thank you." The silver haired teen managed a smile, swallowing down the fear she felt in regards to the sidekick's driving skills, already resigned to the thought that she was going to die before ever reaching Hawks' Agency.

Kestrel bit back a laugh, peering in the rearview mirror at the two in the back, "You're lookin' a little green back there, everything alright? We'll be there soon, so try not to vomit on the upholstery!" Was her attempt to ease their troubled minds, though she wouldn't admit that she was getting a sick pleasure from watching the two kids squirm uncomfortably. Though, Hawks would kill her if she brought back the agency car with vomit stains in it. She wasn't _that_ bad of a driver! _Kids and their need to be overdramatic_.

 _Oh god I hope so, if I'm in this car any longer I just might throw up._ Natsumi thought with a grimace, feeling her stomach clench in a familiar way that sent an uncomfortable shiver up her spine.

Kestrel slammed on the breaks right in front of a large, modern looking building, causing the two teens to lurch forward from the force of their stop.

 _Thank god for seatbelts_. Natsumi groaned, unbuckling herself after the sidekick put the car in park and removed the key from the ignition. She opened the door and all but fell out onto the sidewalk, she was tempted to kiss the ground in a big display but thought better of it, not wanting to make a bad impression by offending Hawks or Kestrel. _But seriously, that girl needs to retake her road test._

She tore her crimson gaze away from the ground, trailing it up to the building before them in awe. It was a multi-story, nearly all glass building, that rose high into the sky. The windows were made of some sort of reflective glass that made it impossible to see inside, but those who were inside would have no issue seeing out onto the street. _It's like staring into a mirror_ , Natsumi mused.

"You two gonna stand there gawkin' all day, or you gonna come inside?" Kestrel laughed from the doorway, hands on her hips.

That was also the first time that the two teens had gotten a good look at the Hero. She was of average height, several inches taller than Natsumi, and had an athletic build. Her steely blue hair was kept short in a stylish bob, her bangs grazing the area above her almond shaped, glacial blue eyes. Her outfit was pretty simple, a muted orange sleeveless hoodie with black stitching accenting the collar, hem, and the holes in the side where her arms poked out, a pair of black shorts with orange pockets, and a pair of ballerina flats in that same muted orange color.

Tokoyami and Natsumi both snatched their luggage from the back of the car before jogging to catch up with Kestrel, not wanting to delay the start of their internship any longer.

As they passed through the threshold they were brought into the lobby of the agency, the only part of the building that was open to the general public. It was a wide, open area with plenty of natural light filtering through the windows, several comfortable looking couches in the same deep crimson color that was reminiscent of Hawks' trademark wings, were pushed against the walls. Placed on the inner walls were large flat screen televisions that alternated between showing the News, various clips of Hawks' recent exploits, and ads for local businesses.

On one side of the room was a refreshment station with several different high tech beverage making machines as well as baskets of all sorts of add ins—creamer, sugars, marshmallows ( _for hot cocoa?_ Natsumi assumed.) and the like.

All in all, it gave off a very cozy vibe.

"This way~" Kestrel had an added bounce in her step as she waved the two teens along.

They passed by the help desk, the receptionist smiling brightly and giving them a welcoming wave before they disappeared into the back where an open elevator waited for them.

"You guys ready to meet the boss man?" Kestrel asked curiously as the elevator doors closed behind them, her fingers smashed against the button meant to lead them to the highest floor of the building.

"I am eager to learn all that he is willing to teach me." Tokoyami nodded his head.

Natsumi nodded in agreement, but otherwise stayed quiet, her eyes trained on the LED numbers above the elevator doors, watching as they rose higher and higher. Her nausea from their terrifying car ride had only just settled but she could feel the knot in her stomach slowly returning the closer their elevator got to the final floor. She had no idea what was in store for her over the next week and just _not_ knowing made her anxiety flare up.

The ding of the elevator was enough to tear her out of her thoughts, the doors slid open to reveal another wide open expanse of a room, this one surrounded by windows on three sides, the only wall not covered from floor to ceiling by the reflective glass was the one to their backs where the elevator was. There was a seating area off to the side, two extravagant looking crimson couches with a long, glass coffee table between them. Straight ahead of them was a dark mahogany desk, stacks of papers littered the surface, a small desk lamp pushed off to the side. Behind it was a tall backed crimson chair, though the back was facing them.

 _I bet he has the best view of the city at night from here._ Natsumi breathed, her eyes caught on the cityscape surrounding them.

Suddenly, the chair stationed behind the luxurious looking dark wooden desk at the back of the room swiveled around, revealing a young man with windswept blonde hair and piercing golden eyes hidden behind a yellow visor. A devious smirk painted his lips, he placed his elbows against the surface of his desk and steepled his nimble fingers together, resting his chin atop them.

"I've been expecting you." His voice was low, almost threatening sounding and sent an involuntary shiver up Natsumi's and Tokoyami's spines.

 _It's him._

The two teens stared, wide-eyed, at their mentor, unable to formulate words to say in response to the dark aura surrounding him.

Hawks unwove his fingers and leaned back in his seat, laughter erupting from his chest, "Sorry, sorry. I've _always_ wanted to do that."

"You've seen too many mobster movies, Hawks." Kestrel rolled her eyes despite her own amused grin.

Natsumi let out a breath that she hadn't even realized that she had been holding.

He pushed the chair back before pulling himself out of it and sauntering towards the trio standing in the center of the room, lips stretched into a wide, easy-going grin. His trademark bright crimson wings were pulled tightly against his back. He was in his Hero costume, a thick high-collared tan jacket with white faux-fur lining the outer edges, a tight black undershirt with a golden geometric design stitched into the front of it, and a pair of tan pants. On his face he wore a yellow tinted visor that protected his eyes from the elements during flight, and lastly, a pair of black and gold head phones, currently resting around his neck.

"I'm glad to see that you made it back in one piece~!" He grinned, bringing a hand up to gesture towards his sidekick, "I hope her driving skills didn't scare you too much?"

" _Oi_! There's nothing wrong with my driving." The girl protested, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting indignantly.

"It was…" Natsumi glanced over to the older woman briefly before finally resting her crimson gaze on the Pro Hero, "…an experience."

Hawks let out a hearty laugh, "Well, just consider that your first test then. And you both passed, congrats!"

"So rude." The steel-blue haired girl groaned out.

The blonde-haired Pro Hero offered them a lopsided grin, "It's still pretty early so how about we go on Patrol? Kessie here will show you to your rooms where you can drop off your things and change into your Hero Costumes, then meet me downstairs in the lobby."

* * *

The rooms they were to be staying in were just as nice and luxurious as the rest of the building's interior with a wall of reflective glass that gave them the perfect view of the city outside. There was a large queen-sized bed up against one of the walls with a thick crimson comforter that was embellished with a golden geometric pattern, reminiscent to the one that was stitched into Hawks' undershirt.

Next to the bed was a dark mahogany night stand, a lamp that was shaped like a feather sat atop it. Natsumi bit her lip to hold in the amused snort that wanted to spill out. The floor was a sleek, modern looking mahogany laminate that matched the wood of the furniture in the room.

The wall that the foot of the bed was facing was adorned with a large flat screen television, an entertainment stand resting just below it. To the left of the entertainment stand was a mini-fridge fully stocked with bottles of water. Several feet away from the television was another door, this one leading to the private bathroom that had a wide glass shower that could have fit at least five people inside. Natsumi wasn't sure why anyone would need a shower that spacious, but after seeing that there were four shower heads inside meant to shoot the water out from all sides, she was excited to give it a try later that evening.

She quickly donned her Hero Costume and jogged out of the room to meet Tokoyami at the elevator that would take them down to the lobby where Hawks had asked them to meet him. While waiting for the elevator to arrive, she ran her fingers through her wavy ivory locks, pulling the strands back into a quick braid to keep it out of her way during their Patrol.

The ride down to the lobby was spent in silent contemplation, both teens mulling over their own thoughts and expectations of what patrolling with Hawks would be like.

When they shuffled out into the lobby they noticed quickly that their mentor was nowhere to be seen, in his place was Kestrel and another person they had yet to meet. The guy standing next to her was tall and lean with caramel colored skin, the left side of his head shaved while a mop of shiny raven hued hair cascaded over the right side of his head down past his ears. He stared over at the two interns almost impatiently, quirking an unamused eyebrow high above his grey eyes.

"The ability to get ready in a timely manner is something we take very seriously here. It took the two of you eight minutes to get dressed and make it down to the lobby where it should have only taken you two minutes or less." The man spoke dryly, reminding the two interns of their homeroom teacher with the way he scolded them.

"My apologies, I will be quicker next time." Tokoyami bowed.

Natsumi frowned, "I didn't realize we were being timed."

"You're interning with Hawks, the Hero known for his impeccable speed, you should have known what is to be expected of you." He spoke evenly, arms crossed over his muscular chest. He was wearing a white body suit that clung to his form nicely, accentuating every muscle, an electric blue line trailing up the suit on either side of his legs. There was a utility belt wrapped around his waist with four pouches attached to it, little pieces of colorful paper poking out from the flaps. There was a sharp, angular mask around his eyes in that same electric blue and had the texture of origami paper.

"Ah, don't be so hard on them, Origami." Kestrel chided him with a wag of her finger, "They've only been here for less than an hour. Give them time, they'll figure things out."

"Tch. Whatever, just don't slow us down." He grumbled, turning on his heel and striding out of the large glass doors.

"Sorry about him, he's extra grumpy today because he and his boyfriend got into a squabble before work." The blue eyed girl explained, waving her hand dismissively, "Anyway, you're with us today."

Natsumi frowned, pushing aside the negative thoughts she had towards Origami, "I thought we were patrolling with Hawks?"

Kestrel laughed, "Well, ah. Yes and no? No one can keep up with him, there's a reason why he's known as the man who's too fast for his own good. By the time we're able to catch up to him the bad guys are usually already defeated and restrained, it's our job to finish up by cleaning up the scene and alerting the proper authorities to come and take away the villain before moving on to the next crime scene."

As they followed her out into the city, both Tokoyami and Natsumi had the same thought in mind, a burning disappointment at the thought of being Hawks' cleanup crew. How would they learn anything from him if they weren't able to actually see him in action?

* * *

 _Three hours_. They had spent three hours trailing behind Origami and Kestrel, running from crime scene to crime scene tying up all of Hawks' loose ends. It was incredibly boring and both teens were starting to feel disheartened already and it was only the first day of their internship.

Each time they arrived at a different location the bad guy would already be tied up or pinned to a wall with one of Hawks' incredibly strong feathers. Their task was to secure the scene and wait for the police to arrive to take the villain into custody, the sidekicks would give a quick statement to the police on behalf of their employer before it was off to the next location to clean up another mess.

Hawks was too good at what he did. He was fast and efficient, able to take down multiple villains in a matter of minutes with the power of his incredible feathers before darting off with a speed unmatched to the next calamity that awaited him.

Natsumi was frustrated by the entire situation. Her fingers twitched at her side, she was just itching to fight, to do _something_ other than follow behind the two sidekicks like a little lost puppy. Ruby eyes narrowed as she caught the chatter from the police scanner tucked securely in the back pocket of the officer who was taking a statement from Origami.

 _Robbery in progress, it said. And…it doesn't sound like it's far from here._ She mused to herself, mind already made up despite the consequences that she was positive she'd have to face later on. _I'm sick of waiting around and doing nothing._

She took off down the street in a full-on sprint before the more rational part of her mind could convince her to stay put. The sidekicks didn't notice her departure at first, too tied up with speaking to the police to realize that she had gone missing, but Tokoyami had seen the entire thing. He carefully weighed his own options, unsure if he should follow suit or follow the rules and stick with Kestrel and Origami.

Natsumi continued down the street, rounding corners and darting across crosswalks. She heard the security alarm ringing loudly, piercing the night with it's shrill cry, before she saw the villains who had broken through the display window of the jewelry store.

"You've strayed pretty far from the flock, chickadee." Came his voice, smooth as honey, as he descended from the sky and hovered inches above the sidewalk beside her, catching Natsumi off guard.

She jumped, startled by his sudden presence despite the fact that she had _wanted_ to run into him so she could learn something from the No. Three Pro Hero Hawks. She cast a glance over at him, lips pulled back into a frown, "Cleaning up the aftermath of a fight isn't my idea of a good time, I came to help you."

He blinked owlishly at her, removing his hands from his pockets before whistling lowly, "Even so, I don't think you're ready to spread your wings just yet, chickadee." In that moment, a flurry of crimson feathers detached from the base of his wings and darted forward towards the robbers. Hawks glanced back at Natsumi, "Stay here where it's safe."

He flew forward, chasing after his own feathers as they darted towards the group of robbers who had piled out of the store with bags full of stolen jewels. There were four criminals in total, each of them carrying multiple bags of jewels as well as had watches and necklaces stuffed into the pockets of their pants. Each of them visibly paled as Hawks hovered before them, an army of feathers floating behind him threateningly.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be. Drop the merch and get on your knees with your hands behind your heads, the police will be here shortly." Hawks' voice was firm, despite his nonchalant appearance. His hands shoved deep into his pockets, head tilted slightly to the side.

The four criminals exchanged glances, before dropping the bags of jewels and rushing towards the Hero. One of the villains activated his Quirk, transforming his arms into long, sharp swords. Another stretched out his arms, needles of varying sizes grew from his skin, covering him completely. The other two must not have had very impressive Quirks, or at least nothing that would help them out in this situation, and instead brandished knives in an attempt to protect themselves.

Hawks let out a small sigh, turning his gaze skyward for a split second before returning to the motley crew before him, "Why are villains so predictable? Can't be helped, I suppose~!"

The vermillion feathers surged forward, shooting towards the four men in a menacing wave while Hawks hovered in the air, watching as the men attempted to fight off the onslaught of feathers.

The two men who weren't relying on their Quirks were apprehended immediately by several feathers digging into the sleeves and legs of their clothing. The momentum of their flight pulling the two men backwards until they were pinned against the brick wall of the jewelry store they had robbed.

Knives-for-arms and Pin Cushion seemed to be faring much better than their Quirkless friends and were able to fend off a majority of the feathers.

Natsumi let out a groan. She had finally found Hawks with the intention of fighting alongside him and here she was, sidelined once more and _useless_. Crimson eyes narrowed in irritation as she watched the scene unfold before her. There was no doubt in her mind that Hawks couldn't handle himself and wrap this whole thing up quickly, like he had been doing the entire evening, but she was getting antsy goddamn it and needed to do _something_!

Mind made up, the ivory haired teen burst forward, leaving frozen footprints in her wake as she ducked under the vermillion wings of her mentor who was watching the villains fight against his feathers. His eyebrows shot straight into his windswept hairline as she ran past him to join the fight, "Where're you going? I said to stay back!"

"I'm going crazy just standing by and doing nothing!" She called back over her shoulder.

In one hand she formed a long, frozen dagger, leaping towards the Pin-Cushion villain with little regard for her own safety. The villain swatted away a feather, eyes narrowing on the girl before bringing his right arm out in front of himself, using the needle-like protrusions in his flesh to protect himself. Her icy weapon collided with the needles, splintering upon contact.

"You'll need something a little stronger than ice cubes if you want to take on my needles." He chuckled darkly, swinging his arm at her.

She leapt backwards, out of the way of his attack, stomping her foot against the ground and allowing a surge of frozen spikes to burst forward towards the villain. He clumsily dodged out of the way of the brunt of the attack, though his leg did get caught against her ice, nicking his skin despite his sharp defense mechanism.

"Oi, don't just rush recklessly into a fight like that." Hawks chastised, a long feather, larger than any of the ones she had seen him use previously, gripped firmly in his hand as he intercepted an attack from the man with swords for arms. The clanking of metal against metal rang out, a curious noise considering it had been caused by a sword striking against a feather. Though, she supposed that they weren't ordinary avian feathers.

Natsumi cast a glance over her shoulder as Hawks appeared at her back, protecting her from an attack that she had been completely unaware of. His wings tucked tightly against his back as he struck back against the villain, he was so close to her that she could feel the gentle tickle of his feathers against her back. A shaky breath escaped her as the realization hit her that she had almost been cut in half by the villain that she had completely neglected to think about.

 _Way to fucking go. You're supposed to be showing him that you can handle yourself. You just proved his point._ She inwardly scolded herself, feeling ashamed for letting such a crucial detail escape her.

The villain she was up against brought back his fist, before letting it fly towards her face, sharp needles poking out from between his knuckles promising an incredibly painful hit. Natsumi ducked under the wide swing of his arm and somersaulted forward out of his direct line of sight.

She popped up behind him, outstretching her palm and allowing a barrage of frozen projectiles to assault his exposed, spikey backside. He let out a grunt and stumbled forward, but was quickly able to correct his balance before whirling around and running towards her.

Thinking quickly, Natsumi formed a long, thick blade of ice in her right hand and brought it up in a defensive position against her chest right as the man barreled into her. She pushed back with all of her strength, though realistically knew that it wouldn't be enough to fend him off. He pushed against her blade and she could feel her legs sliding out from under her, pushing her backwards towards the store front behind her.

The icy weapon began to crack under the pressure the man was exerting on her and she knew she had seconds before it would shatter completely. Gritting her teeth, Natsumi's eyes narrowed as she caught sight of him retracting his other arm, the one that he wasn't using the push against her, and bringing it down towards her. In the blink of an eye she ducked under his arms once more, right as her ice shattered and his other arm connected with air—missing the crown of her head by a split second.

Natsumi ran backwards, keeping her crimson gaze on her enemy the entire time as she made her way back to where Hawks was.

Pin cushion let out a growl, "Enough playing around! I'll fucking kill ya, kid." He leapt back, away from her and her ice and puffed out his cheeks, straining in a way that made her think that he was trying to hold his breath or—ruby eyes widened.

Natsumi brought her hands out in front of her, creating a massive wall of ice to separate her and Hawks, who was still fighting against his own villain, from the needle user. A moment later the sound of quills lodging themselves into the ice echoed across their urban battlefield.

"Quick thinking, kid! Good job." Hawks praised, glancing over his shoulder as he felt the temperature drop drastically due to the ice at his back. Her pushed forward with his feather sword, knocking his enemy off balance and using his own momentum to spring forward. He brought he leg up and landed a swift kick to the man's sternum, sending swords-for-arms sprawling against the concrete unceremoniously.

The villain attempted to pull himself to his feet but stopped short as the sharp, vermillion feather in Hawks' hand fell to rest just below the man's chin.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." The Winged Hero smirked down at the villain triumphantly. He briefly glanced over his shoulder at his intern, "Don't move, kid, I'll take care of the other one too."

"No need, I got it." She called back, her breath a frozen cloud breezing past her lips.

Natsumi turned intangible and phased right through her frozen barrier, the villain on the other side had begun to back track towards the spilt bags of jewels, attempting to gather as much as he could and make a hasty escape. She exhaled sharply, her intangibility still activated as she padded forward, using the balls of her feet to sneak up on the man. Her footfalls were quiet against the concrete, but she was almost sure that the man would be able to hear her ragged breathing—to her surprise, he didn't.

She took a running leap, deactivating her Quirk at the last moment just before her foot made contact with the back of the villain's head, the only part of his body not covered in sharp protrusions. He stumbled forward, a startled gasp escaping him and he quickly jutted out his palms to catch himself.

In that moment, Natsumi took a step closer to him, a river of ice racing towards him and coating his limbs in a thick rime, freezing him against the concrete.

"You've caused enough trouble for one night, how about you chill out of a bit, yeah?" Her lips pulled back into a smirk, leaning down to peer at the man as he struggled to free his hands from his frozen shackles, "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless you want to rip the skin from your hands, that is."

She straightened back up and turned towards where Hawks was still keeping the other villain pinned with his feather sword. A stomp of her left foot against the concrete had more ice snaking its way towards them, passing by her mentor and sneaking up the arms and legs of the man that he had captured.

The Winged Hero retracted the weapon from the man's throat, now that he was apprehended and no longer needed the threat to stay in place. He leaned back on the balls of his feet, twirling the elongated feather between his fingers before telekinetically allowing it to rise out of his grasp and fly back up to reposition itself at the base of his wings.

"Those were some pretty risky moves you made back there." Hawks spoke coolly, his golden gaze shifting to land on her and she froze mid-step under his stare, suddenly hyper-aware of her blatant disregard for his earlier commands to stay at a safe distance.

Crimson eyes glazed over and she was suddenly transported back to another time and place.

 _Her father's boot clad foot made contact with her side in one swift motion that sent her small body flying back against the concrete floor of the warehouse they called home. Her chest burned with each breath she drew in and vaguely she wondered if he had bruised her ribs again._

 _Natsumi was no stranger to pain, whether inflicted accidentally or deliberately during her training, she could handle whatever her parents tossed her way, physically at least. Their hurtful words, laced with disappointment and disgust were another story. Nothing stung worse than seeing the displeased scowls marring their faces as they hovered over her. She aimed to please, absolutely yearned for their approval, they didn't hand out praise often but when they did, she basked in it for days. Today was not one of those days._

" _We gave you explicit instructions on what we expected from you today and you've done nothing but disappoint your mother and I." Kurosawa Kiyoshi stared down at the trembling form of his eight year old daughter, his dark crimson eyes narrowed into tiny slits, "You're too impulsive, rushing in without first considering the situation before you. Careless mistakes like that are what will land you in police custody, or_ _ **killed**_ _."_

She chewed on her bottom lip, apprehensively meeting his gaze, "I'm…sorry, Hawks-sensei."

He blinked at her reaction, noting the subtle flicker of _fear_ in her expression, his expression softened, fingers rising to rub at the back of his neck, "Listen, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, ya know. I know that you kids are more capable than most, especially after the things you've faced early on in your first semester." He paused, regarding her for a moment. He was no good at these sorts of things. Hawks was a lot of things; a skilled fighter, observant, quick, highly intelligent—but was he good at reprimanding others? No. It was awkward, he never knew what to say in those sorts of situations so he tended to avoid them altogether and make someone else from his agency do it for him. But, in this moment, it was just him and her (and the four villains who were restrained), and so the responsibility fell on him.

"I appreciate your help; you were pretty quick on your feet back there." His gaze flickered up towards the sidewalk behind her as his sidekicks, with Tokoyami in tow, skidded to a halt after running the entire way there, "But, going forward, if I think a situation is too dangerous for either of you to be involved in then I need you to follow my orders and stay back."

Natsumi nodded her head, albeit slowly, biting back the stinging shame that pinched the back of her throat, "Of course."

Tokoyami, despite the fact that he was not on the receiving end of the scolding, bowed, "Yes sir."

Kestrel and Origami hung back, fighting back the urge to apologize to their boss for allowing their young charge to slip away from them so easily. The mood was already a somber one, however, and they knew that their added words weren't warranted.

Officers rushed the scene and began to surround the villains, though when they got to the two encased in ice they scratched their cheeks, discussing amongst themselves the best way to chisel the men out. Natsumi, upon hearing their dilemma, brought a hand up, curling her fingers and pulling apart the water molecules that froze the men to the concrete and thus giving the police better access to the villains to apprehend them.

The Winged Hero let out a long, drawn out breath, his lips suddenly splitting into a cheerful grin, " _Whew_ , that took a lot out of me! Who's hungry? I'm famished! I'm thinking yakitori, and I know _just_ the place~!"

* * *

Natsumi flopped onto her bed with a loud thud, thoroughly exhausted both mentally and physically after the day she had had. She was still reeling from being reprimanded by Hawks, she knew that she deserved it and should have expected such from her reckless actions, but it still stung.

She buried her face into the pillow, letting out a loud groan. She suspected that, maybe, it wasn't Hawks' words that had her stomach in knots, but the memory that it had unintentionally dredged up. Natsumi hated thinking about her parents and the life she once knew and typically did her best to push those thoughts to the back of her mind. But the disappointment in his golden stare…reminded her too much of her father.

Realistically, Hawks was nothing like her father. He was a respected Pro-Hero. Her father had been a super villain. Their personalities were complete opposites as well. Her father had been a strict man with a penchant for violence under the guise of life lessons. Hawks, though she had only known him a few hours, seemed much more easy-going, the type of guy that just goes with the flow and makes the best of every situation—and enjoyed bird puns far more than he should.

 _I'm such an idiot. I should've just stayed back with Tokoyami-kun._

It was late in the evening and Hawks had promised an early day for them the next morning, sending her and her classmate off to bed after taking them to his favorite yakitori spot. She had been rather amused by his eagerness to eat his fill of the seasoned chicken skewers. There had been a joke about cannibalism mentioned, to which he laughed and clarified that he was no chicken, so it was okay.

A sudden ping from her phone caught her attention. She mustered up enough energy to roll over and reach towards the nightstand where her phone had been resting for the last several hours while she was out on patrol. Cold fingers wrapped around the device, pulling it towards her and tapping the screen.

 _46 messages._

"You guys talk too much, holy shit." A laugh escaped her as she unlocked her phone and read through the group thread where everyone detailed their first day of their internships in great detail. Most of them had gone on patrols with their mentors, none of them had run into any trouble and were excitedly texting about what they hoped to learn over the next week.

Her thumbs glided across the digital keyboard, recounting her eventful evening to her classmates, though decidedly leaving out the part about her and Tokoyami being on the cleanup crew.

 **Ashido**.  
 _Okay but girl, where is that photo of Hawks you promised? A girl has needs._

 **Hagakure**.  
 _Sounding a little thirsty over there, Mina :P_

 **Iida**.  
 _Please be sure to stay hydrated, Ashido-san._

 **Ashido**.  
 _OMG_

 **Kaminari**.  
 _LOL_

 **Sero**.  
 _I fucking can't omg._

Natsumi squinted at the conversation, biting back her own laughter at their class rep's innocent response, suddenly a whole slew of texts flooded in from her classmates as they all expressed their amusement in the form of emojis.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _It's only the first day Mina-chan. Patience is a virtue._

 **Tokoyami**.  
 _That's like the pot calling the kettle black._

 **Natsumi**.  
 _How_ dare _you. D:_

That was the only time Tokoyami had participated in the conversation, out of all the texts from their classmates, he chose to respond with a jibe towards her and their conversation from earlier on the train. Her eyes trailed back up through the conversation between the class, eyes slightly narrowed in concern when she noticed two names had yet to comment.

 _Bakugou did basically say that he'd rather die than be apart of a group chat, but…_

She opened her contacts list, scrolling through it until her index finger landed against one name in particular. Natsumi hesitated, wondering if maybe it was too late or too intrusive to send him a message. She was curious about how his day had gone, but didn't want to overstep any boundaries in case the subject was a sore one.

Biting the inside of her cheek, she opened up a new message, her fingers hovering over the digital keyboard, unsure of what to write or how to even start a conversation.

* * *

Shouto grumbled to himself as he lay on his back atop the futon in his childhood bedroom. With him interning with his old man it didn't make much sense for him to stay in the guest rooms at the Endeavor Agency since they weren't far from home to begin with. At least, that had been what his father had said. Not that Shouto minded, but there were just too many negative memories attached to this home and the man holed up in his study down the hall.

Typically, Endeavor would be away performing his Hero duties at all hours of the day and night, leaving Shouto to his own devices. The boy preferred having the home to himself, when Todoroki Enji was around Shouto found himself easily riled up and more irritable than usual.

 _I suppose this is what I signed up for when I accepted his offer._ His lips tugged into a small frown.

His phone vibrated beside him, the screen lighting up to alert him that he had a new message. Quirking a curious brow, he reached over to grasp the device, wondering who it could've been. He had long since muted the group chat, electing to not remove himself completely in case something important happened. _They talk too much_. He couldn't deal with the constant vibrations from his phone every twenty seconds as a new text came through from his classmates. In the beginning he had skimmed through the messages, seeing how the others had fared during their first day, but the conversation quickly turned into a jumbled mess of idiotic jokes and memes that Shouto had no time, or patience, for.

He unlocked his phone with a quick swipe of his thumb, dual-colored eyes squinted against the brightness of his phone screen as it lit up his dark room. Once his vision adjusted, he found that his previous pent-up frustrations and anger towards Endeavor disappeared with one simple message.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _Hey, you up?_

His eyes softened at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, typing out a quick response.

 **Shouto** _.  
It's late, shouldn't you be asleep?_

 **Natsumi.  
** _Probably, but I couldn't sleep. What about you?_

 **Shouto** _.  
Same. How was your first day?_

He stared at the conversation, waiting for her response to pop up. When it didn't after waiting for a couple of minutes he let out a small sigh, bringing his arm down and laying the phone beside him once more. _She must've fallen asleep_ , he reasoned with himself, figuring that he should try and do the same.

His phone vibrated **.**

Shouto's hand shot out with lightning quick reflexes, fingers quickly tapping in his password to unlock his phone.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _It was a little disappointing. Hawks is an amazing hero, maybe a little too efficient. He basically had us on cleanup duty with his sidekicks for hours—Todoroki I was so fucking bored._

He snorted, he could just imagine her standing there, impatiently tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest—he'd only known her for a few short months but he quickly learned that she wasn't the most patient person.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _So when I heard on the police scanner that there was a robbery in progress I took off. Ended up fighting alongside Hawks, it was exhilarating._

 **Shouto**.  
 _Why am I not surprised?_

 **Natsumi**.  
 _Ah. I'm sure you also won't be surprised to hear that he told me I was reckless and to never do it again._

 **Shouto**.  
 _I'd be disappointed in him as a Hero if he didn't._

 **Natsumi** _.  
Fucking rude._

He smirked at her response.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _How was working with Endeavor for an entire day? Ready to kill him yet?_

Shouto ran his free hand through his messy, dual-colored locks, forcibly expelling a stream of air from his nose _._ He should've known that she would ask that, it was only natural considering he had asked her about her day. He wasn't keen on talking about his feelings or his strained relationship with his father, though somehow Natsumi, as well as Midoriya, had weaseled their way into his good graces over the short course of a couple of months.

He brought his other hand back up to where he cradled his phone above his face, typing out a response.

 **Shouto**.  
 _It…went as well as can be expected. That bastard doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Always trying to force his skewed ideologies on me and doesn't take 'no' for an answer._

 **Natsumi**.  
 _You know what you should do?_

He let out a curious hum, typing out a ' _what_?'.

 **Natsumi**.  
 _Steal his credit card and treat yourself. It'll relieve stress for you while teaching him not to fuck with you._

Shouto snorted in amusement. He had to admit that the thought was incredibly tempting. But what would he even spend the money on? He was a simple guy, he wasn't into materialistic things like the rest of the world was.

 **Shouto**.  
 _Doesn't sound very heroic._

 **Natsumi**.  
 _Nah, but we're not talking about ethics here. We're talking about a son rebelling against his father in the best way possible._

The two continued with their conversation for another hour or so, bouncing off ideas of what they would spend Endeavor's money on. Shouto's ideas were much more practical like a new futon, school supplies, and soba, while Natsumi had come up with more ridiculous thoughts—such as a cardboard cutout of Aizawa-sensei, twenty pounds of gummy worms, and the entire collection of that hideous Ganriki Neko clothing line.

It was pretty late when the two decided to bid each other goodnight in favor of getting some rest before having to be up early to start day two of their internships.

* * *

I originally planned for this chapter to just keep going, but I ended up getting stuck and then also thought about having to edit it to post on Ao3 and that left a sour taste in my mouth so I'm just going to stop it here and post it and pick back up in the next chapter lol. Internships will either be 2 chapters in total or if I can't stop myself and keep writing then it might end up being 3, but no more than that lol.

Does anyone read the manga? I won't put any spoilers so no worries. But I'm seriously having a heart attack right now, this current arc has me so incredibly anxious it's not even funny. I'm excited for, way wayyy down the road, when we get there in this story because I have so many ideas what how Natsumi is going to play a role in what is currently happening. But ahhhh. I'm scared for my chickenwing boy lmao.

I really want to thank everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed last chapter! And also **AliDaisy** and **Sincerelyrosemaryy** who had just found the story and went through and left a ton of reviews as they read along. Thank you so much, those meant so much to me 😊

 **AliDaisy** – Ohhhh, seriously if you went and wrote fanfiction about MY fanfiction I would seriously die. That would be the cutest, most flattering, thing ever haha! Reading through all of your reviews made me so happy, I'm glad you love Natsu and the story and the character development. I also love when Bakugou calls her 'princess' instead of his usual 'ice bitch', in the beginning I was definitely torn between making this a BakugouxNatsu story or a TodorokixNatsu story, it was such a tough decision because they're both the best boys T_T! But I do sincerely enjoy Bakugou's relationship with Natsumi and I can't wait for them to get closer as the school year progresses—I have so many things planned for them already! :P

 **Bbymojo** – Todoroki is such a cute dork I love him. I think you might he accessing my tumblr on mobile? If so then I don't think the tabs show up at the top like they do if you're on a computer so you'd have to use the search icon at the top of the screen and type in 'art' and then it'll pull up all of my art of Natsu (and when I get around to posting things of my other BnHA OCs that I have yet to post about, their art too lol)


	16. Chapter 16

The next day Natsumi woke earlier than she would have normally liked to, heading down to the shared common room area to grab a quick bite to eat before starting the day. When she arrived the overwhelming scent of maple syrup and bacon pummeled her senses, eliciting a loud growl from her stomach.

Kestrel let out a loud laugh, "Good morning to you too! Have a seat, I made breakfast! I hope you like pancakes, bacon, and eggs!"

"Thanks, this looks great." Natsumi grinned, piling her plate with food. She wasn't usually a breakfast person, and when she did eat early in the morning it was usually something quick from the bakery on the way to school. The last time she had a real breakfast was a memory lost to her.

Tokoyami shuffled into the room moments later, taking a seat beside his classmate, "Thank you for taking care of us, Kestrel."

The girl waved off his comment with a grin, "Of course! Now eat up, you two are going to be busy today so you'll need plenty of energy to keep up!"

That piqued their interested. Tokoyami and Natsumi both exchanged curious looks, both of them collectively hoping that perhaps Hawks would be taking their training more serious and not relegate them to cleanup duty.

" _It's about damn time he took this training seriously, I'm ready to pummel some bad guys_!" Dark Shadow made his appearance, hovering behind Tokoyami and pumping his clawed fists in excitement.

Tokoyami's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of his other half, he fanned his hands out in and attempt to calm Dark Shadow down, "Please don't make a scene, it's too early in the morning."

Natsumi bit into a particularly crunchy piece of bacon before pointing the piece of crispy pork at her classmate, "Mm, he has a point though. I mean, last night aside, I'm ready to learn some real fighting tactics from on the job experience from Hawks."

Dark Shadow beamed, placing his shadowed hands on his hips and peering down at his host, " _Oi, oi. I like her_."

"He's new to this whole intern thing so go easy on the guy," Kestrel laughed, pointing a batter splattered spatula at the two kids, "remember, if he slows himself down enough to allow you to keep up on patrols that leads to the potential of villains getting away because he won't be able to apprehend them in time."

The two teens huffed out indignant sighs at the statement. It made sense. He really _was_ too fast for his own good. Though, the nagging thought of ' _why did he send me an offer then?_ ' plagued the two as they quietly contemplated their internship.

* * *

"Wait, so I'm _not_ going with you on patrol?" Natsumi bit out, eyes narrowed and fingers curling at her sides, "Is this because of last night? Because I really am sorry about that, I'll listen from now on."

Hawks rubbed at the back of his neck, he really hated to disappoint others. He made a career out of being a people pleaser, that was how he had flown through the ranks so quickly when he was just starting out as a Hero—well, that and the fact that he was exceedingly efficient when it came to getting the job done.

"Don't think of this as a punishment. You wanted training, yeah?" Hawks tilted his head, lips pulled back into an easy-going smile, "You'll be working with one of the best today, ah—you know, I never got your Hero names." He scratched at his cheek sheepishly.

She blinked at his sudden change of the subject, still sore at the thought of being left behind as a form of punishment, regardless of how _he_ saw it, she knew that that was exactly what this was about. He was right about one thing, however, she and Tokoyami had never given him their Hero Names.

The ivory haired teen brought her arms up, crossing them over her chest as she grumbled out, "Hisame."

The blonde Pro Hero perked up, leaning forward with a curious grin, "Oh? Is that a play on the fact that your signature move is frozen projectiles? Clever girl."

Tokoyami stood beside her, "Tsukuyomi."

Hawks tore his golden gaze away from the ivory haired teen, his attention now settled on the dark figure of Tokoyami, "Oh?" He regarded the boy with an appraising look, "It suits you well."

"Oi, you guys sound so unenthused. Lighten up, show a little excitement, will ya?"

The two teens whipped their heads toward the door as a new voice cut into their conversation.

In the doorway stood a woman barely an inch taller than Natsumi, with dark caramel skin, slanted ruby red eyes, and long silver hair that cascaded down her back and rested against her thighs. The woman's muscles bulged with every subtle movement made, she exuded strength and confidence.

Natsumi tore her eyes away from the impressive muscular figure the woman bore and slowly moved up to stare at the tall, silver rabbit ears perched atop her head. _Cute_ , she couldn't help but to think despite the fact that the woman looked as if she could easily crush Natsumi between her thighs without a second thought. The teen blinked at the intrusive thoughts, cheeks burning bright red, _God, that's something Mineta would fantasize about._

The newcomer was wearing a sleeveless white leotard with purple trim, a bright golden crescent moon design on her chest, and thick metal plates accenting her hips. A large, fluffy cotton-ball shaped tail protruded out of her backside. On her lower half were purple thigh-high boots with metal plating around her feet, shaped to look like rabbit feet.

"Nice of you to hop over on such short notice, Mirko." Hawks angled his chin over his shoulder, sending a teasing smirk her way.

The Rabbit Hero placed a hand on her cocked hip as one eyebrow perched precariously above the other, "Don't you have a city to patrol, tweety-bird?"

The Winged Hero waved his hand dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, Thumper." He then turned his sharp, golden gaze to Natsumi who stiffened under his stare, "If the Commission heard that I let you go without any sort of discipline after last night they'd clip my wings. Just keep in mind that this is just for today, little dove."

 _The Commission?_ Natsumi wondered curiously before grumbling, "Yeah, fine, I get it."

"Don't think of this as punishment, think of it as a privilege—you get to train with me today, kid! Lucky you!" Mirko smirked, "Get ready for the workout of your life."

"Good luck, Hisame!" Hawks waved to the two girls as he and Tokoyami joined his sidekicks out in the hallway. Her classmate sent her one last fleeting look, eyes softening apologetically, before he followed their mentor out of the common room.

Crimson met ruby as the two girls regarded each other coolly. Natsumi tilted her head, lips downturned, "So, what? Hawks called you to come babysit?"

Mirko let out a hearty laugh, "Nah, kid. That bird-brain doesn't tell me what to do. I was in the area and thought I'd hop by and pay my good friend a visit."

"So, you're not here on official Hero business with your agency? This was more of a social call?" Natsumi asked curiously.

"I don't affiliate myself with a hero agency, so I'm free to come and go as I please." The rabbit hero explained with a shrug of her shoulders, "So, yes, this was more or less a social visit. Though, I will admit that I was pretty damn shaken when I heard that Hawks had taken interns. That kid has never been interested in guiding future heroes. So you bet your ass I had to come and see who piqued his interest."

Natsumi rose an eyebrow, "And?"

Mirko smirked, "Color me impressed. After Hawks told me about that little stunt you pulled last night it made me realize that you and I have something in common."

"And what's that?" Natsumi's curiosity was genuinely piqued by the No. 5 Hero's statement

The dark-skinned woman laughed, "We've both been considered reckless by our peers. The only difference between you and I in that aspect is that I'm properly trained and know how to assess the situation and make the best decision based on my observations." She closed her eyes momentarily, humming to herself, "But, you're still a kid, you'll get there."

The ivory haired teen blinked back her surprise, taking a tentative step towards the rabbit Hero, "So then…today…?"

Mirko opened one eye and focused her stare on the curious teen, lips pulled back into a devious grin, "Oh today I plan on working you till you drop—and then I'll make sure you keep going."

* * *

The car they had taken pulled into the parking spot and Mirko graciously paid the driver before she and her young charge for the day slid out and into the burning sun. The first thing Natsumi noticed was a heaviness to the air, a certain scent to it that was both salty and fishy as it tangled through her curly white locks. The second thing was the sound of birds crying in the breeze, their sound being drown out by the roaring waves— _waves_?

Natsumi bounced on the balls of her feet, attempting to hide her own excitement, and failing miserably, when she realized that Mirko had taken her to the beach. The Rabbit Hero began to walk towards the boardwalk that ran through the sand dunes, creating a clear path from the parking lot to the beach on the other side.

The teen was beside herself, she had never seen the ocean before but it had been at the top of her list of things to do. Growing up, she had never been permitted to stray far from their warehouse home so she had never gotten to see or do many things that most people took for granted. Natsumi trailed behind the older woman, crimson eyes darting back and forth, taking in every detail surrounding her which only fueled her growing eagerness.

The Pro Hero cast a glance over her shoulder, watching the teen pause to admire the seagulls flying above before her eyes darted to stare with rapt attention as a crab scuttled past her, hurrying over the wooden planks beneath their feet and disappearing into the tall grass of the sand dunes.

"You act like you've never been to the beach before, kid." The Rabbit Hero laughed, amusement dancing across her ruby eyes.

Natsumi's head snapped back to stare at the Hero waiting for her at the end of the boardwalk, a sheepish smile etched itself onto her lips as she answered the woman back, "Well…I haven't. My childhood wasn't exactly a… _conventional_ one, so I missed out on a lot, I guess."

Mirko's gaze softened at the young girl's admission, _that's right, she's the kid who came from a home of villains._ She crossed her toned arms over her chest, lips quirking into a half-smirk, "Well, you'll have plenty of time to ogle the pretty scenery today because this is where we will be training."

* * *

Natsumi spent the next couple of hours with her shoes off, running up and down the beach in an attempt to catch the swift Hero. The sun burned brightly, beating down on the teen who had long since stripped down to just her crimson tank-top undershirt and rolled her leggings up as far as she could. Despite removing all of her extra layers, Natsumi still found herself feeling more overheated than she had ever felt, even with her lowered body temperature and Quirk working to cool her off. Her clothing clung to her sweat drenched body, face flushed from heat and overexertion, her legs were beginning to cramp but she continued to push herself towards the Rabbit Hero who showed no signs of slowing down.

"What's this? Kid, you're slowin' down, you tired already?" Mirko teased, turning around to face Natsumi while jogging backwards. Her pace had also slowed down considerably, but not because she was also tiring, it was because she recognized the signs of fatigue beginning to present themselves in her young charge and she wanted to make the goal of their training more attainable. Though, Mirko was by no means willing to hand over the win to Natsumi, the girl still had to work for it.

Natsumi stumbled forward, bringing the back of her hand up to wipe the sweat from her brow before it had the chance to sting her eyes, "A-absolutely not, I could do this all day."

The dark-skinned woman smirked, "Good to hear! And here I was thinking we should stop and take a break, but if you're so confident in your ability to continue then I guess we'll just keep at it."

The ivory haired teen faltered, anxiously chewing on her bottom lip. A break sounded glorious to her, even if it was a quick five minute pause in training just to grab a drink and cool off.

The Rabbit Hero tilted her head and stopped moving backwards, instead she jogged in place, crimson eyes trained on the teen as she sluggishly moved towards her. Usagiyama Rumi could honestly do this for hours on end without needing a break, in fact, she had done just that many times in the past. But, she needed to take the limits of the teen into consideration. _Bird-brain would kill me if his intern dropped from heat exhaustion_.

"Alright kid, I think you've proven yourself plenty for now. Lets stop for a bit and cool down, yeah?"

Natsumi visibly perked up at that, letting out a silent sigh of relief when she was finally able to catch up to her, now stationary, mentor for the day. Her entire body ached and burned from the nonstop movement as well as the beginnings of a sunburn on her cheeks and arms.

"Thank god— _I mean_ —yeah? Sure, we can take a break if you need one." The teen quickly covered, attempting to hide the fact that she was utterly exhausted by waving her arms animatedly around her as she spoke.

"Yup, you caught me. I totally needed to pause the training to catch my breath here." The Rabbit Hero guffawed, eyes crinkling at the corners, "I'll go grab us some drinks, why don't you plop yourself down and take a breather."

 _You don't have to tell me twice._

The crimson eyed teen felt her legs wobble and give out beneath her as her own exhaustion took hold of her, her aching limbs screaming at her to take it easy. She dropped down onto the sand, stretching her legs out in front of her while leaning back on her hands, palms digging into the granules beneath her.

Natsumi felt herself relax as she watched the navy blue waves roll in, racing along the shoreline to meet her. The water's edge lapped against her throbbing feet, her toes curled involuntarily from the shock of the cool water surging around her burning skin.

 _I finally made it. I can't believe how beautiful the ocean is._

She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her already burned skin, listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the shoreline was enough to ease her mind of any and all worries. In that moment of respite, Natsumi found herself wishing that her friends were there with her enjoying the beach.

 _Ah, maybe we can take a trip during summer vacation_. She mused with a blissful sigh.

A startled yelp escaped her as a frosty bottle of water was placed against her cheek, Mirko's laughter rang in her ears as the Pro Hero removed the bottle from Natsumi's face and tossed it towards her. The teen brought her hands up, catching the chilled beverage with deft fingers.

"Drink up, kid. Can't bring you back to Tweety-bird all dehydrated and shit." The Rabbit Hero plopped down next to the teen, taking a long swig from her own bottle of water before pulling out a thin, white cardboard box and setting it between them. With nimble fingers, Mirko flipped open the box and eagerly plucked out a skewer with a perfectly round, fried golden brown dough situated at the end of the stick, "Mm, this is the best takoyaki in all of Fukuoka. I always have to stop by whenever I'm in town." She grinned, shoving the fried treat into her mouth and relishing the texture of the fluffy fried dough on the outside before her teeth hit the soft, chewy octopus hidden inside. She had been stopping by the little shack on the boardwalk for the last 5 years, the owner was always sure to send her away with more than enough Takoyaki to last her her entire patrol. He was a sweet old man and she was always happy to over-tip him, despite his protests.

The Pro Hero nudged the box towards Natsumi, who watched the woman enjoying her snack momentarily before taking one for herself. A delighted hum vibrated from the back of her throat as she took a bite, appreciating the almost sweet taste of the breading as it complemented the saltiness of the octopus.

The two sat in silence, watching the waves roll in, allowing their toes to curl in the wet sand while they enjoyed their snack.

"Alright kid, once we're done with this I have one more thing I want us to do before we head back." Mirko tore into another Takoyaki ball, her eyes trained on the horizon as a swarm of seagulls flew past overheard. Several of the birds landed on the sand mere feet away from the two young women, hopping forward with tilted heads and loud chirps.

Natsumi absently ripped a piece of breading off of her Takoyaki ball and tossed it to one of the birds, watching with rapt attention, a small smile gracing her features as the birds quickly dove forward to fight over the morsel. She quickly tore a few more pieces off, throwing them towards the birds so that they'd each have their own portion.

After a moment of watching the birds happily bounce side to side, begging for more, Natsumi turned away from them and glanced at her mentor for the day, "Sorry. What else did you have in mind?"

The swift Pro Hero quickly wiped away her own soft smile, replacing it with a half-smirk, "We're going to walk this stretch of the beach and pick up any trash we find. Beachgoers leave this place an absolute mess every day and all that litter, if not picked up, ends up back in the ocean during high tide and that pisses me off. So, we're going to clean up as much as we can before we leave."

Natsumi bit her lip, her exhaustion mixed with the sunburn she had earned during the hours spent training under the sun without any sort of skin protection were starting to get to her, she felt so tired! And, ordinarily, she probably would have complained about being on cleanup duty—much like she had the night before, even though the situations were completely different—she couldn't deny that she felt a tug at her heartstrings at Mirko's heated declaration.

The older woman's ruby stare slid over to land on the teen who was quietly mulling over what she had previously said. Her long, silver ears twitched against the salty sea breeze, "I know it ain't the most glamorous of gigs, but helping out in the community in any way, even if it's picking up litter, is still a very important aspect of being a Hero. Civilians will see that you are actually taking the time out of your day to do something so mundane and the fact that you care about little tasks such as that will earn you a ton of respect, remember that, kid."

Natsumi turned fully to face the Rabbit Hero, her chapped lips pulling back into a bright smile as she stared up at the woman with admiration, "I think it's great. Knowing that you and other Heroes care so much about the environment really gets me all fired up—I just wish more people took conservation and keeping the environment clean and free of trash more seriously. We only have one planet, right?"

Mirko blinked at the young girl, before nodding enthusiastically, "That's right! And who knows, maybe when you go Pro one day one of the major proponents of your Hero Campaign can be Environmental Conservation. I feel like the younger generations these days are more eager and willing to protect the planet than their predecessors are, so, you know, you guys could really make some big changes to the world moving forward." The Rabbit Hero finished with a wide grin, pulling herself to her feet before offering a gloved hand to the teen, who eagerly accepted and allowed the older woman to pull her to her feet.

* * *

Mirko had brought her back to Hawks' Agency well after the sun had already set on the horizon, waving goodbye in an exuberant fashion before hopping along down the street. Natsumi had wandered back up to her room, guiding her hand along the wall on her way so that she'd be able to catch herself should her legs give out again.

She made it back to her room without much trouble and decided to jump in the shower to wash the seasalt and sweat from her body, taking great care to carefully, gently, lather her bodywash across her reddened skin. A groan escaped her, "I don't even remember the last time I had a sunburn…"

After her shower, Natsumi stood in front of the fogged up floor length mirror with a frown, rubbing her arm across the cool surface, the image projected before her became clearer with the action. A light pink dusted over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose courtesy of the harsh rays of the sun. Her shoulders and forearms were also reddened, an annoyed huff left her at the sight. Luckily, the sunburn didn't look too terrible and she hoped that it would go away on its own very soon.

Natsumi shuffled over to her open suitcase and rummaged through it until she found a dark crimson sweater and a pair of black leggings. Once pulling on her undergarments she tugged the sweater over her head, fingers reaching back to pull her damp ivory hair out of the back of her sweater, letting it fall over her shoulder.

Once fully dressed, she fell back onto her bed, deciding to check her phone after having left it on the nightstand all day once more. The group chat had blown up once more but that wasn't what caught her attention.

 _2 new messages from: unknown number_

She slid her finger across the screen to unlock it, ignoring the group chat and opening up the messages from the unknown number, her curiosity getting the better of her.

 _Hey kid! I nabbed your phone number from your file at Hawks' agency, hope ya don't mind. Just wanted to say good job today! Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything! Here's a cute pic I took of you today, thought you might want it! -Mirko_

Natsumi quickly saved the phone number to her contacts list before clicking back to the message and downloading the photo that had been attached. Once it finished loading she felt her lips pull back into a soft smile at the image—it was a photo taken from behind that depicted her staring out at the sea, ivory curls floating in the breeze, the sky painted in a myriad of colors as the sun set beyond the horizon, dark orange, pink, purple, and various shades of blue all swirling together to create the perfect back drop.

The photo had been taken at the tail end of their training, during their mission to cleanup the shoreline, the sun had started to set and Natsumi had found herself mesmerized and unable to look away. She had no idea that Mirko had apparently thought to capture the moment on her phone but…Natsumi was glad that she had.

She tapped against the image, saving it to her camera roll before typing out a quick, ' _thank you for today, I love the photo!_ ' punctuated by several happy and heart filled emojis to the Rabbit Hero.

With nothing else to do, she found herself scrolling through the group chat to catch up on what was going on with her classmates. Biting her lip, she clicked on the 'add image' button and sent the photo that Mirko had taken of her to the group chat.

 **Natsumi** : _Did some training at the beach today with Mirko! The sunburn was definitely worth it with a sunset like this waiting for me at the end of the day~_  
 **Kaminari** : _What?! You got to go to the beach? Not fair Natsu-chan! T_T_  
 **Ochako** : _Did you say Mirko?! What're you doing with her, aren't you at Hawks' Agency?_

She was about to respond when the sound of footsteps outside of her door caught her attention and she realized that Tokoyami must have just returned from his patrol with Hawks. She leapt from her bed, leaving her phone behind on the mattress as she raced to the door, hoping to catch her classmate before he disappeared into his own room for the night. Delicate fingers gripped the doorknob, ripping the door open with more force than what was really necessary and effectively startling the boy who had been about to enter his own room next door.

The boy blinked, hand hovering over the handle to his own room as they both stared at each other awkwardly. She was the first to break their silent stare down.

"How did it go today?" She shuffled out into the hallway, balancing on the balls of her feet in eager anticipation, hoping to hear that Hawks had at least started taking things seriously so that she would have that to look forward to when she joined them the next day.

Tokoyami let out a long, drawn out sigh, retracting his hand and letting it fall at his side, "Similar to how things went last night, minus you being there, of course."

Natsumi frowned, "What? So…cleanup duty?"

Dark Shadow suddenly appeared behind him, crossing his arms over his chest, " _It was bullshit! Didn't even see the guy at all tonight!"_ She quickly deduced that he meant Hawks, meaning that her classmate had been dumped on the sidekicks again.

He nodded solemnly, his fingers twitched at his side, "I will not lie, I am feeling discouraged about this whole ordeal." Ordinarily he would have shushed Dark Shadow, doing his best to keep his other half in check, but he felt too disheartened to really care about his vulgar familiar.

"You're right, Dark Shadow. That _is_ bullshit." Her voice came out as more of a growl, she felt a sharp ache in her chest at her classmate's admission. Just knowing that the boy was doubting himself and feeling disappointed in the situation was enough to set her off. They weren't close by any stretch of the imagination, but she couldn't deny that she was also feeling dispirited by this whole internship, even if it was only the second day.

If Hawks wasn't serious about 'guiding the next generation' as Mirko had so eloquently put it earlier, than why the fuck did he put in offers for her and Tokoyami?

Tokoyami glanced up abruptly, almost wincing at the sharpness of her voice. He tilted his head and frowned, "It can't be helped I suppose. We have five days left, I guess it's just best to resign ourselves to the fact that we will be working alongside Origami and Kestrel for the remainder of our time here. We're still learning something at least, even if it's the cleanup aspect of a crime scene."

"No, I'm sorry but I can't accept that." Natsumi clenched her fists at her side, brows dipped down angrily, "We're not learning anything practical here—we should be learning, _I don't know_ , fighting techniques, how to operate stealthily on a mission, interrogation—something, _anything_!"

" _Yeah! That's more like it_! _Let's go beat 'im into submission!"_ Dark Shadow howled eagerly, pounding his fist against his palm, earning an amused snort from the ivory haired teen and a reproachful glare from Tokoyami.

"Let's not do anything shameful that could get us sent back before the end of our internship." Tokoyami reasoned firmly, his dark eyes shifting between his other half and Natsumi almost warily.

She waved her hand dismissively in the air, her lips curling into a lazy smirk, "No worries, we won't get sent home. But I do think we should go talk to him, tell him how we really feel, ya'know?"

Tokoyami's frown was persistent, much like the girl standing before him with fire alight in her crimson gaze. He was the type of person who sat back and did what he could to get by without making any waves, he left the troublemaking up to his classmates. But…he couldn't deny himself the need to improve upon his own abilities and to gain better control over Dark Shadow.

A low sigh breezed from his beak, "I don't know, Kurosawa."

"Look, I didn't want to say anything before because it's really not my place and we don't know each other like that but…I could tell that you've been having self-doubt. From what I can tell, it's been fueled by this stupid situation where we were forced to sit on the sidelines, being unable to engage in the fight is incredibly frustrating and honestly makes me want to scream and hit something, but for you? You've been internalizing that shit and that's not healthy physically or mentally." Her voice came out much softer than it had been previously and she took a tentative step forward, stopping herself when she was just a foot away from the boy. Damp curls of ivory fell over her shoulder as she tilted her head, "You can trust me. Though, I understand if you're wary of talking things out with me since we've never really talked much before…"

Tokoyami blinked back his own surprised thoughts, he couldn't believe that she had been able to read him so well in the short amount of time that they had been on this journey together. _Perhaps I'm simply not as good at hiding my true feelings as I originally thought._ He mused, allowing a dark chuckle to escape him.

"I cannot deny your astute observations, I have indeed been feeling doubtful towards my own strength and abilities while on this journey. I understand that it's only the second day and maybe I'm simply overthinking things, perhaps my expectations were far too great and now I'm just realizing that the internship I imagined is far from actuality." He closed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh as the weight of his own words permeated the empty hallway.

Natsumi let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when he began to speak, she didn't think that he'd be willing to open up to her considering the fact that the number of conversations they had had could be counted on one hand. _This is a start in the right direction, though, right?_ She thought hopefully.

" _Okay, okay, but are we going to give Hawks a piece of our minds or not_?!" Dark Shadow groaned impatiently, waving his dark arms around in the air to get the two to focus their attention on him once more.

Natsumi exchanged an amused look with Tokoyami as Dark Shadow successfully dispelled the heavy atmosphere that had settled around them, "Yeah, yeah. We're going now." She nodded her head towards her companion, her lips pulling into a soft, appreciative smile that silently told him she was happy that he had been willing to talk to her.

Tokoyami let out a quiet hum, almost reluctant to follow after his classmate as she started down the hallway to confront their mentor. Her temper was legendary amongst their class, rivaling that of their resident hothead Bakugou Katsuki…which made the impending conversation with Hawks make the boy feel a bout of nervousness slip over him. An almost inaudible groan escaped him as he jogged to catch up to her, he needed to be there to keep her in check and make sure she didn't step out of line and say anything that could truly get them kicked out of their internship.

They rode the elevator in silence up to the top floor where Hawks' office was, it was late and there was no telling if he would actually be there or not, but Natsumi assumed that being that he was a Pro Hero that he'd probably have paperwork or other official business that would keep him up for a little while longer. She tapped her foot against the tiled floor of the elevator impatiently, but still in rhythm to the instrumental music that played through the speakers.

Tokoyami watched her from the corner of his eye warily before drawing in a calming breath, "Kurosawa."

She tilted her head, angling her chin to the side to give him her attention as the digital screen above the elevator doors dinged, signaling their arrival at the top most floor of the building.

He let out a quiet sigh, "Just…don't go overboard."

Natsumi let out a small laugh, her lips twitching at the corners, "Hey, hey. We're just here to get some answers and try to convince him to take things more seriously." She strode out into the room as the doors opened, peering back over her shoulder at him, "You worry too much, Tokoyami-kun."

The boy rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets and shuffling after her. The first thing the two noticed upon arriving at the large office space was that the Hero they sought was hovering in the air on his back, his wings fluttering slowly beneath him. His hands were stretched out, holding a brightly colored tabloid magazine above his face as his lazy golden stare flitted over the images printed, reading through the article, failing horrendously to disguise his own amusement, "Childish? _Me_? Psh, as if. At least they got the part about me being a ' _pretty bird'_ right. Ha ha." Hawks didn't seem to notice the entrance of his two interns and they quickly realized that he had his headphones pulled up over his ears, loud music drifting out of the device.

A bright crimson blur whizzed up to the two teens, fluttering around them, and Natsumi instinctively reached out, running her fingers across the soft downy feather.

Hawks' wings fluffed up around him and he felt an involuntary shiver run up his spine, his golden gaze slid over to land on his two interns as he felt the young girl's fingers graze one of the feathers that he had been using for surveillance. Oftentimes, he would allow a multitude of his feathers to zoom across the city as a way to keep watch over his patrol routes, in a way he was able to be in multiple places at once. He was able to pick up on subtle vibrations and hear snippets of conversations, it was the best way for him to keep an eye on the city and gather information. He had sent them out earlier in the evening when he had been out on patrol and they were just now returning to him.

"Ah! Hey, you two. What brings you to my humble abode, hm?" He righted himself, hovering in a vertical position now. He quickly tossed the tabloid onto one of his couches uncaringly, his fingers rose to remove the headphones from his ears, allowing them to rest around his neck so he could give the two his undivided attention.

The feather flitted away, out of her grasp, and returned to its place amongst Hawks' impressive plumage. Natsumi's hand fell to her side and she found herself suddenly too nervous to bring up her complaints, despite having just had such strong resolve about having the conversation in the first place.

Tokoyami glanced over at his companion from the corner of his eye, immediately noticing the change in her demeanor, his brows dipped down over his dark eyes.

The blonde Hero tilted his head to the side in a curious manner, "What's got you two lookin' so down, hm?"

Tokoyami glanced over to Natsumi once more to see if she had snapped out of her thoughts, but realized that she still seemed lost in her own mind. He closed his eyes momentarily, allowing a small sigh to slip out before meeting Hawks' curious golden stare. All the self-doubt and questioning thoughts that had invaded his mind the last two days suddenly overwhelming him. The over-flowing insecurity he felt for his own strengths and abilities activated his inner rage and he clenched his fists at his sides, "Why did you extend the invitation to me to come intern at your agency?"

The blonde blinked in surprise, his lips drawing themselves into an amused grin, unbothered by the sudden hostility in Tokoyami's stance, "Because we're both birds~!"

Natsumi's head snapped up, successfully pulling herself out of her own thoughts of being intimidated by the No. 3 Hero, an incredulous look overtaking her countenance at the words uttered by the Winged Hero.

Tokoyami's eyes narrowed, "Are you joking?"

Hawks shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, bringing a hand up to wave around dismissively as he spoke, "No, I'm twenty-percent serious. It was mostly because I wanted to talk with someone from class 1-A about those little punks who attacked your class, calling themselves the 'League of Villains'. And, well, I figured if I had to pick one of you then it would have to be someone who could potentially keep up with me, someone with a lot of promise. So, I thought, ' _why not that birdman from the top three_?'"

Tokoyami frowned, his brows knitting together as he drank in the words spilling from the Pro Hero's mouth. On the one hand he was disappointed to hear that he had only been sought out to satiate the Hero's own curiosities about his class and their run-in with those villains…

 _He thinks I have potential?_ Tokoyami still had his self-doubts but hearing those words uttered from his idol was enough to quell the self-deprecating thoughts for the time being.

"Well, last I checked, I'm neither a bird nor was I in the top three. So, what was your reasoning behind sending an offer to me then?" Natsumi finally found her voice, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat and taking a step forward with her arms crossed over her chest.

His attention flitted from Tokoyami over to the silver haired teen, his lips pulled back into a lopsided smirk as he brought his index finger up to tap against his chin, "You would've been if you hadn't been impaled during that last match, and even then you tried to soldier on. That was impressive and took major guts. Your drive and overall will to come out on top, coupled with the sheer speed and agility you demonstrated during the obstacle race as well as those final battles, were enough to have me thinkin' that I wouldn't mind having you on my team. Also, I was curious about your take on this supposed League of Villains, considering your background and all."

At first, she felt a small wave of relief mixed with pride caress her as he spoke highly of her abilities and the reasoning behind choosing her but then as he ended his speech her irritation seeped back in through the cracks of her resolve. She kept her arms crossed over her chest, fingers digging into the fabric of her sweater to keep herself grounded through her anger. She had promised Tokoyami that she wouldn't get them kicked out of their internship and she was afraid that if she let her hands fall from their current position that she might act on her anger.

"Considering my _background_?" She seethed, teeth gritting together, "You mean how I was raised by Hydra and Spectre? How they taught me everything they know with the intention of me surpassing them one day? Or, how my two childhood friends happened to join that same group of villains that attacked us, that you're _so_ curious about? I'm not some novelty to keep around because I have ties to the Underworld. I'm serious about my training and fully intend on becoming a Hero."

Hawks placed his hands up in front of himself defensively, his lips pulled back in an apologetic grimace, "Whoa, whoa, little bird. I didn't mean it like _that_ , though I guess I wasn't being very tactful in my approach for information so I'm sorry about that." He raised one of his arms to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly, nimble fingers tangling through his windswept blonde locks as he did so.

Tokoyami eyed his classmate from the corner of his eyes, he couldn't exactly blame her for feeling the way she did after Hawks' uncouth way of mentioning her upbringing. From what he knew about her, which wasn't much to begin with, her past was a notoriously taboo subject to speak of and was something that she was working towards overcoming. He knew that their classmates weren't bothered by her past and who her parents were, not anymore at least, but a good portion of the general public were still sore over the matter if their reaction to her participating in the Sports Festival were any indication. And he knew that the 'boos' and angered whispers from the crowds in the stands had affected her, but she still fought on and gave it her all despite the public backlash.

Because of that, Tokoyami was surprised by Hawks' tactless approach. He was a highly intelligent Hero, wasn't he? Shouldn't he have known that it was a sore subject that shouldn't be encroached upon? The boy found himself frowning to himself.

"Ah, now I really feel bad." Hawk frowned, averting his gaze briefly before meeting her unwavering glare, "I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and information on a wide variety of subject matters and the fact that Yūei did their best to keep all the details from the attack under wraps had my interest piqued—sorry if my way of trying to seek answers was a little unconventional and rude."

Natsumi angrily expelled a harsh stream of air from her nostrils before drawing in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her grated nerves. _Quit acting like a brat, you should be used to people bringing up your shitty childhood like this. Use this to your advantage._ She brought a hand up to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes as she mentally debated with herself.

"Kurosawa, are you okay?" Tokoyami fully turned to face her, his voice soft and tinged with concern as he watched.

Her eyes snapped open, all her previous anger was replaced by heated determination as she met Hawks' stare, "You only sent us offers because you wanted information. Well, how about we make a trade?"

The Pro Hero perked up at her proposition, an eyebrow rising high into his blonde hairline. He had to admit that he was curious by her sudden change in demeanor and was interested to hear what she had to offer. He lowered himself to the ground, allowing his wings to curl against his back as he leaned forward, eager for her to continue her line of thought, "Oh? What did you have in mind, chickadee?"

Her lips curled into a devious smirk, "We'll tell you everything we know about the League of Villains and our experiences with them and you will take our training seriously, no more leaving us behind on patrols. We're giving you the intel you want so all that we ask is that you give us the information _we_ need to take back with us and apply to our own hero training."

Hawks let out a low whistle, leaning back on his heels and averting his gaze to the ceiling of the office, he tapped his index finger against the stubble on his chin, making an exaggerated gesture of contemplating her offer. He let out a long, drawn out sigh, as if her words spelled some sort of defeat for him, when in truth it was all an act that he put on to give off the impression that he wasn't easily swayed by such a tempting offer. It was only five days that he'd have to slow himself down enough to give the teens what they wanted from their internship. He could do that. It would be torture not being able to work at his usual fast pace, but the intel he'd be learning from them about the League would be worth it in the end. Knowledge was power, after all.

"You drive a hard bargain, little bird, but you got yourself a deal." His easy-going grin returned, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he spoke, "Gotta say, I'm impressed by your ability to negotiate."

Her hands dropped to her side, palms digging into her cocked hip as she fought back her own excitement over Hawks actually agreeing to her proposal. She was able to school her expression into a neutral one, only allowing the corners of her lips to twitch subtly before she answered him coolly, "I know how to get what I want _, considering my background, and all_."

The blonde let out a burst of laughter at her response, quickly realizing that she was teasing him by throwing his own words back at him. _She's got spunk_. He turned to saunter back towards the plush, crimson couch where he had previously thrown his tabloid, placing his palms against the soft material and hoisting himself over the back of the couch. He let himself drop down on to the cushions, stretching his legs out in front of himself and repositioning his wings to make himself more comfortable.

Natsumi and Tokoyami exchanged glances when the Pro Hero beckoned them to join him. They did so, taking the couch across from him before delving into the story of what happened during their training at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. The two went back and forth, telling Hawks what happened to them individually, who they fought, and what they saw, sparing no detail in their explanation of that fateful day. The Pro Hero listened with rapt attention, his piercing stare never once leaving the two teens that sat on the other couch across from him.

"So, this Nomu creature had a combination of multiple Quirks?" Hawks asked once they finished the retelling of their experiences, his thumb and index finger stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Indeed." Tokoyami supplied, "From our understanding, the League of Villains bioengineered the beast with the sole purpose of beating All Might with it."

Hawks, who had picked himself up into a sitting position at some point during their story, leaned back, draping his arm across the back of the couch, "Hoo boy, that's one hell of a story. Makes you wonder if they've got more of those creatures stashed somewhere, doesn't it?"

Natsumi rolled her bottom lip between her teeth, the thought had definitely crossed her mind once or twice before but she abruptly squashed it by convincing herself that regardless of numbers, All Might would always be there to thwart the villains' plans. But she couldn't deny that growing anxiety that bubbled in the pit of her stomach when Hawks mentioned the possibility of more of those abominations.

"Let's hope that was the only one." She let out a breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding, garnering the attention of both males from the action.

Hawks watched her quietly for a moment before cocking his head to the side and offering a bright smile, "You're right, there's no point in dwelling on the 'what ifs' at this point in time." His amber gaze flickered briefly to the clock hanging on the wall behind the two teens, in place of numbers were various colorful birds, while the ticking hands were bright red feathers, "Whew, look at the time. I kept you two up pretty late, you should probably head off to bed if you want to be in tip-top shape for your training tomorrow."

* * *

Natsumi made it back to her room and flopped unceremoniously onto her bed, her lips splitting into a satisfied grin as her mind drifted back to earlier in the evening when Hawks agreed to take their training seriously. She turned off the lamp on her bedside table, enveloping the room in a pleasant darkness that was only interrupted by the glow of the moon hanging high in the sky outside of her bedroom's tall windows.

Quietly, she shuffled underneath the comforter before reaching over to check her phone. She was exhausted and eager to go to bed so that she could wake up and start her training, but she couldn't deny her curious mind the knowledge of what her classmates had gotten into. So, she found herself reading through the massive wall of text that was her class' group chat.

 _They seem to be having a good time._ She smiled softly, _I'm so glad._

After reaching the end of the chat thread she realized that there was still an unread notification hovering over her text message icon. Tilting her head, her finger tapped against the icon to open up the new message that was waiting for her.

 **Shinsou Hitoshi:**  
 _[image attached]  
Your cat loves me._

Crimson eyes widened as she took in the image that he had attached. It was a selfie of Shinsou holding his phone out in front of himself, his lips curled in a teasing smirk at the camera as Kaguya stood on her hind legs, placing her tiny paws against his chest as she leaned up to nuzzle against the boy's chin.

She had to admit that it was a cute photo but it begged the question…

 **Kurosawa Natsumi:** _WTF? What're you doing in my apartment?_

Being that it was already two in the morning, she didn't expect to receive a response until much later, so it went without saying that she was surprised when her phone vibrated, alerting her that she had a new message.

 **Shinsou Hitoshi** : _Earning your cat's love and affection, obviously.  
_ **Kurosawa Natsumi:** _Did Aizawa-sensei send you to take care of her?  
_ **Shinsou Hitoshi:** _In a way, yes.  
_ **Kurosawa Natsumi:** _What's that supposed to mean?  
_ **Shinsou Hitoshi** _: Technically, he's taking care of her. I just came along for the ride…and I was curious about what your place looked like. Your room is a mess btw, when was the last time you cleaned it?_

Warmth blossomed across her cheeks at the implication that Shinsou had snooped through her apartment and taken a peek at her room.  
 _  
_ **Kurosawa Natsumi** _: …I didn't plan on having visitors. And excuse me! You can't just go rummaging through a girl's room, you know!  
_ **Shinsou Hitoshi:** _I didn't 'rummage' through anything. I'm not a creep, you know.  
_ **Kurosawa Natsumi:** _Says the boy who went snooping around my room without permission -.-  
_ **Shinsou Hitoshi:** _Yeah, yeah. How's the No. 3 Hero treating you?  
_ **Kurosawa Natsumi** _: Good, now that he's finally going to take this internship seriously.  
_ **Shinsou Hitoshi** _: Oh? He wasn't taking it seriously before?_

She filled him in on how the last two days at the Hawks Agency had been and how frustrated she and Tokoyami had both felt which lead up to her and her companion confronting the Pro Hero. Shinsou offered quips here and there, and when she had asked him how he had been and expressed her interest to know what he was doing with Aizawa-sensei in the first place the boy seemed hesitant to give her the answers she sought. He teased her, dancing around the subject with skill, offering vague answers before directing the conversation elsewhere.

By the time the clock struck three in the morning she bid him good night, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

* * *

Okay, so I made up my mind. The internship arc will be 3 chapters total, so that means the next chapter will be the climax of the arc and I'm really excited about it! So, if you read the manga then you know that Tokoyami's internship with Hawks was a dud—which is where things are different here because Natsu is determined to learn _something_ so that this whole thing isn't a waste (not that Tokoyami wasn't, but he's too nice and not willing to resort to such devious tactics to get what he wants like she is lol)

Is anyone else panicking over the current arc in the manga by any chance? Because I am. I feel like my anxiety has been through the roof these last couple of weeks because of what is going on with Hawks (he's my favorite character so I'm just really invested in everything that has to do with him lmao). Anyone want to sit around and panic-cry with me? LOL

I really hope everyone is staying safe out there during these crazy times! At work we now have to wear gloves and a surgical mask at all times and if we are the person dealing with clients then we have to dress up in sterile surgical drapes and eye guards as well, it's insane. So stay home if you're able to please!

Thank you so much everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys are absolutely amazing and I love each and every one of you for being so supportive, it means everything to me! So please keep the reviews coming :3


	17. Chapter 17

"You wanted to see me?" Natsumi stepped out of the elevator and into Hawks' office, her head tilted in a curious manner as she stared up at the man who sat cross-legged mid-air with another magazine in hand.

He perked up at her entrance, a lopsided grin etched on his face as he tossed the magazine into the air, only to have it be caught by one of his detached feathers. He swooped down to her level, hands on his hips and leaning in closely to examine her, "I was curious about your Quirk."

Her brows knitted together and she took a tentative step away from him when he invaded her personal space, "My Quirk? I thought it was pretty cut and dry—ice manipulation and invisible intangibility."

Hawks remained in his position, hovering a foot off the ground, back hunched as he brought his face up to her's again, a contemplative hum escaping his throat, "You think so? Considering the type of Quirk that Hydra had I'm a little surprised that you've only mastered the manipulation of ice and gas—"

"—Gas?" Natsumi interjected, her eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, "Oh! I mean, yeah I guess that was how that aspect of my Quirk was originally explained to me but I'm not really good with the whole physics of it all. It's just something that came naturally to me during a time when I needed it the most."

The blonde Pro Hero tilted his head, raising a curious brow at her choice of words, "When you needed it the most?"

She bit the inside of her cheek, averting her eyes and suddenly feeling embarrassed, "Ah…it, uh, developed one night after I, um, was locked in my room for a few days. After that, when I realized what I could do, I did my best to hide that aspect of my Quirk from my parents so that if I was ever in a situation where I hadn't been able to eat or was denied medical attention I could literally sneak by them without them ever knowing that I wasn't still in my room."

Hawks' smile faltered at her admission; he knew what it was like to have a harsh, unconventional childhood. He was often denied meals when he didn't produce the results that the Commission wanted him to, even as a small child, they would urge him to continue for hours upon hours until he had gone well past his physical and mental limits. It certainly wasn't something he would ever want another child to experience.

"So, it manifested itself when you subconsciously realized that you were in danger, interesting." His nimble fingers stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Well, that's two out of three forms of water that you've come to be able to manipulate. Have you ever tried working with it in its liquid state?"

Natsumi shrugged, "Honestly? Not really. Ice has always been easiest for me to work with and was what my parents had me focus on, though I assume that's because they didn't think I was capable of anything else?" It was her turn to bring her thumb and index finger to her chin, staring ahead at nothing in particular as she mumbled, "Could there be a possibility that there's a whole other aspect of my Quirk that I never explored?"

"It would make the most sense. Hydra had the ability to manipulate water in all forms as well—though, from what I knew of her exploits, I don't think I've ever heard of her being able to turn herself into a gas to escape evasion. You think that part of your Quirk was a mutation of her's and your father's?" The blonde allowed his feet to touch the floor, his wings curled against his back as he leaned back on his heels.

The young girl nodded her head slowly, crimson eyes rising to meet his, "I always assumed that it must've been. She could control water in all states of matter but she was never able to physically alter her body like I can in that aspect. Father, on the other hand, with his Quirk _Phantom_ was able to turn himself intangible but not invisible. So, I always figured that it was a combination of both of their Quirks that allowed me to become both invisible and intangible."

He let out a low whistle, a wide grin splitting his lips, "That's a pretty handy ability to have, think of how efficient it would be on a mission when stealth is your top priority. You're also able to transfer that ability to other people by way of touch, yeah? So in a hostage situation you could literally slip in unnoticed and get the hostages out of harm's way without being seen. Do you have a limit to how many people you can use your Quirk on at one time?"

That was such high praise coming from the No. 3 Hero. The fact that he was telling her how useful she would be in stressful situations when the stakes were high made her swell with pride. Just knowing that the Quirks she had inherited from her parents could be used for good was enough to make her dizzy with excitement over the blatant encouragement that Hawks was showing her.

His last question made her falter, pursing her lips together as she considered his words carefully. She didn't really have an answer to what he had asked because she had never had the opportunity to really test her limits in that respect. Hibiki and Ryou were the only other people she had used it on. For the longest time it had just been the three of them in their own little world, she never would have considered the thought of expanding the walls around her heart to include anyone else.

But time changes everything.

It certainly had changed her perspective on life.

"I've never really experimented with it. I mean, I've been able to pull two people in with me simultaneously, but I've never tried any more than that before so I really don't know what my limit would be." She answered honestly after a long silence had passed between the two.

He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, beaming brightly at her, "Well, I think we should work on expanding your limits as well as exploring the possibility of liquid manipulation."

* * *

Natsumi presently sat in the middle of a kiddy pool filled halfway with water, situated off to the side of the expansive training room that the agency harbored. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to be doing to activate her potential, she had always assumed that she had everything figured out about her Quirk. But Hawks had made her question if perhaps she had been looking at it incorrectly—maybe she didn't have two Quirks after all. Maybe it had always been just one.

She lowered her gaze, her hands falling to her lap and making a splash as they fell into the cool water. She knew that concentration was the key when training and it had certainly played a major part in harnessing her power when she was a child just learning the ins and outs of her Quirk.

 _I hope he's right about this or else I'm going to feel like a major idiot just sitting here in a baby pool_.

She felt disappointed in herself for having never actually considered the thought that maybe she could do more with her Quirk than what she had been trained to. Her parents had certainly been distraught over their masterpiece only having the ability to control ice and not the full spectrum of their combined Quirks. She had been purposefully bred to hopefully wield both Quirks, but as luck would have it, she was destined to be a disappointment to her parents.

A scoff passed over her lips at the thought and she rolled her eyes, shoving the thoughts and memories aside so that she could focus on the task at hand. Cupping her hands together, Natsumi collected a small pooling of the liquid in her palms and brought it up so that it was eyelevel.

She narrowed her eyes, focusing all of her energy on the liquid as it rippled from the movement of her hands before stilling as she held it out in front of herself.

 _Creating ice is like second nature to me, using my already low body temperature to freeze the water molecules around me…so it should, theoretically, be just a matter of not lowering the temperature of the molecules and then working to manipulate it as is._ She let out a groan _, Ugh, but that means I need to find a way to regulate my own temperature…I've never been able to do that before._

Natsumi closed her eyes, focusing all of her energy on the water held in her cupped palms, she imagined little tendrils of sloshing liquid forming from the surface of the fluid, rising up and twirling in her hands. She snapped her eyes open and immediately let out an exasperated sigh. The liquid in her hands, as well as what she had been sitting in, was frozen solid.

"This is harder than I thought it would be." She quietly groaned to herself, pulling the molecules away from the frozen water in her hands before running her fingers along the smooth surface of the ice that encased her bent legs, watching as the ice thawed around her.

Loud grunts drifted past her ears and she momentarily took a break from heatedly staring at the water rippling around her legs to glance over to the other side of the training room.

Tokoyami and Kestrel had been at it for about as long as she had been trying to work with the water in her kiddy pool. The two were exchanging blows, blocking, and dodging each other's movements with swift precision.

She was taken aback by how quick and unpredictable Kestrel's movements were. She had activated her quirk, a pair of transparent, holographic looking wings appeared at her back giving her the extra boost in speed that she'd need to keep her opponent on his toes.

Unfortunately for Tokoyami, this exercise was one that he was strictly prohibited from using Dark Shadow's abilities in, so he was forced to rely on his own personal strength to match wits with the sidekick.

Natsumi hummed quietly to herself, tearing her eyes away from the sparring duo and returning her attention to her own training task once more.

* * *

The two interns had spent the better part of their morning and early afternoon in the agency training facility. Tokoyami was sore from his long-lasting sparring match with Kestrel who, at one point, had tapped out and switched with Origami who showed absolutely no mercy when it came to hand to hand battle.

Natsumi had managed to form a half-frozen whip of slush out of the water in the kiddy pool, it was sloppy and not very easy to control, but she was proud and excited nonetheless. _Baby steps_ , she reminded herself.

It was close to sunset when Hawks appeared in the common room, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his pants, lips pulled back into a lazy grin, "You kids ready to go on patrol?"

Natsumi had been nursing a bowl of soggy cereal for the last fifteen minutes, mulling over the training she had done earlier in the day, the voice of the Pro Hero successfully drawing her out of her thoughts. She jumped up, dumping the remnants of her snack into the trash before placing the bowl in the sink and turning to the blonde with an eager nod of her head

Tokoyami had just finished off an apple, rising to toss the core in the trash before dipping his head as well, "We appreciate you taking the time to take us with you tonight."

Hawks laughed, bringing one hand out of his pockets to wave emphatically, "Ah~! I'm a man of my word, you know!"

He wouldn't allow for his mask to break in front of the kids, but he was silently dreading the thought of having to slow himself down enough for them to be able to keep up. That wasn't his style. He was known as the Hero who was too fast for his own good, for a reason. He got shit done efficiently and quickly, more often than not, he was able to resolve situations before they even had a chance to escalate and become dangerous.

But, he had struck a deal with his young charge and he certainly wasn't about to go back on his word, especially after the two had supplied him with all the information he had been curious about. Hawks had gotten what he wanted, now it was time for him to give the kids what they wanted, even if the pace he had to keep was torturous to him.

"Patrol hours for me can vary day to day. Yesterday, I set out in the early afternoon, but today I figured we could do an evening patrol so you could see the difference the time of day makes when it comes to the crime rate." He explained, hovering a foot off the ground as the two teens followed him out of the agency and out into the warm Spring evening.

The sun was just beginning to set behind the cityscape, leaving a trail of orange rays of light to beam across the sky, standing out against the purples and blues of the encroaching night. The city certainly seemed to come alive at this time of day, street lamps flickered on, the streets and sidewalks seemed busier, crowded with people on their evening commute home from work, and the bar and restaurant scene was booming as guests crowded in through the opened doors to grab dinner.

"Hey look, it's Hawks!" Someone called out from across the street and the Pro Hero in question turned his head, waving jovially at the excited woman.

"Oh man, Hawks! Keep up the good work, the city feels so much safer with you keeping an eye on it!" Another bystander piped up as he walked by with his wife.

"Of course! Just doing my part to keep the bad guys at bay and the lovely people of my hometown safe~!" Hawks grinned so wide that his eyes crinkled at the corners.

Natsumi and Tokoyami exchanged glances as their mentor stopped to sign a couple of autographs for his adoring fans. They both simultaneously wondered if maybe this was another reason why Hawks took to the skies during patrol, so that he wouldn't have to worry about being stopped every couple of feet by his fans.

"He is quite the people pleaser, isn't he?" The boy beside her commented, tilting his head as he watched the blonde Pro take a selfie with a group of giggling girls. He grinned brightly, holding up a peace sign as two of the girls placed their lips delicately against his cheeks for the photo.

"No wonder he's so popular in the polls." She hummed in response.

"Thanks for the continued love and support, everyone!" He detached himself from the small crowd of fans that had formed around him, waving animatedly to them before strolling towards his two patiently waiting interns, "I hope you were taking notes~!"

Natsumi tilted her head, scrunching her nose at the comment, "Notes on what? How to waste time while allowing strangers to slobber all over you?"

Hawks expression never faltered, not even once, instead he let out a loud burst of laughter at her response, digging his hands into the plush lined pockets of his coat, "On how to keep your fans happy, of course! They're the ones who're going to be placing their vote for you in the polls after all. I'd like to think that the popularity polls are the most important judge of a Hero's true character because it shows that they care enough about the people. It's the people who're showing their support and placing their trust in you to get the job done and keep them and the city safe from the bad guys. Going out of your way to snap a few photos, kiss a few babies, and sign a few autographs really shows them that you appreciate their support. Remember that, you two."

That was probably the most advice The Winged Hero had given either of them since the start of their internship and both students wondered what happened to his whole 'I-don't-care-to-guide-the-future-generations' attitude.

 _He really is taking this seriously. I can't believe we got through to him_. Natsumi felt her lips twitch at the corners as she followed behind the blonde Pro and her classmate.

Though, his declaration lead to another thought, "That's easy for you to say, but what about someone like me? Someone stigmatized by the public to be a villain and in no way suited for this line of work? I highly doubt I'll ever rank in the popularity polls, not that that really matters all that much to me to begin with. I just want to help people."

His piercing, golden gaze slid to land on her from the corner of his eye, his lips still retaining the pleasant grin that he had adorned previously but his voice held a new, underlying element to it when he spoke, one she was unable to decipher, "No matter how hard you work, all the good you do for the world, you're always going to have people who doubt your intentions and your abilities. Try not to let their negativity bring you down, use it as a force of motivation. Remember, they don't know you personally, they don't know the hurdles you've gotten over, the hardships you've faced, or how much progress you've made. All they're going to focus on is what they know from the media, which, I'll be honest, can be pretty brutal sometimes. But you just gotta keep your head held high and stay focused on what really matters—helping as many people as you can."

Natsumi had stopped walking at some point during Hawks' speech, her crimson gaze focused on the back of his head as he spoke. The Pro suddenly stopped, turning to meet her stare after he had realized that she had stopped following him and Tokoyami.

He had taken an interest in her originally because of who her parents were, which, admittedly, probably made him just as bad as the rest of the world. Though, while everyone else judged her for what her parents had done, projecting their fears onto this fragile fifteen-year-old, Hawks had been intrigued by other thoughts. He had been curious to see the type of person she had become after growing up in a hostile and unconventional environment and curious to determine for himself whether she was worthy of the title Hero. Maybe it was presumptuous of him to have such thoughts, making him just as guilty as those who believed what the mass media had laid out for them.

But Hawks was an excellent judge of character and from the observations he had made of her since their first meeting a few days ago he knew there was nothing to worry about in terms of where her alliances lied. She was determined to become a Hero despite her shady past…just like he had been.

"You may have those who wish to see you fail, but also keep in mind that you have an even larger group of friends who are rooting for you and are eager to see you succeed." Tokoyami broke the silence, his back was still to her but he had angled his chin over his shoulder, allowing his dark eyes to land on her quiet form, "I don't believe you realize just how much you have changed and progressed since the beginning of the school year. You should be proud, Kurosawa."

Hawks glanced over to Tokoyami briefly before settling his golden gaze back onto the subject of the conversation, interested to see her reaction.

Natsumi bit her lip, eyes widening at the unexpected kind words and praise gifted to her by her classmate. She let out a shaky breath, blinking back the moisture that had gathered at the corners of her eyes. She still wasn't used to being praised; it sent a fluttering sensation rippling through her chest that blossomed into an indescribable warmth…but it wasn't unpleasant.

"You're right, both of you." She let out a breathy laugh, crimson eyes crinkling at the corners as she brought her gaze up to meet theirs, "Thank you."

Hawks chuckled, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck as his lips slipped back into an easy-going grin, "Sure thing, little bird!"

* * *

Silver eyes narrowed, lips drawn into a displeased frown as the boy peered over the edge of the rooftop he was standing upon to gaze at the Winged Hero and his two interns below. He peeled his eyes away from the trio beneath him as the sound of footsteps crunching against the gravelly rooftop behind him caught his attention.

"What's wrong, Hibiki?" Ryou sidled up beside his brother, hands crossed over his chest as he, too, glanced down towards the ivory haired girl below, his gaze lingering on her.

Hibiki let out an uneasy sigh, silver eyes gliding to focus on his brother, "I don't know…should we really do this? What if she gets hurt?"

Ryou scoffed, running a hand through his shaggy, raven locks, "Don't get yourself all worked up, Shigaraki has these things programmed to follow his orders to a T. They won't kill her."

"Argh! I know that, but the thought of her getting roughed up by them at all is enough to send me on edge." Hibiki let out a frustrated groan, his fingers rising to fidget with the black mask on his face. He stared down at the girl that he and his brother loved so dearly. Suddenly, an image of Natsumi appeared on the rooftop before them, her body still as it lay crumpled against the gravel, a smattering of dark bruises covered her pale skin as sticky crimson pooled around her.

"Control yourself." Ryou barked, eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, sorry. You know I can't help it sometimes." He blinked and the battered and defeated image of the girl disappeared in an instant before he shot his brother an apologetic grin.

"Shigaraki gave them explicit orders not to kill her. We just need to help ease her into the realization that Heroes aren't almighty beings— _they're not Gods_ , and they can't save every life that's in danger. The sooner she sees that the sooner she'll come to realize that this silly goal of hers is not realistic." Ryou let out a chuckle as a swirling portal of purple and black opened up once more behind them, this time three creatures emerged, quiet snarls escaping them as they stomped forward towards the edge of the roof, "Plus, if we can manage to take out that overgrown parrot with the Nomu I think that'd be a plus and the extra push she needs."

Hibiki glanced over to the Nomu before turning back to his brother, "Right, and then she'll come back to us. She'll run right into our arms and be _ours_ again."

Ryou nodded, _She's always belonged to us, we just need to remind her of that fact._ He moved to take a step back from the ledge he was perched upon when, from the corner of his eye, he caught the subtle movement from the Winged Hero below. Silver eyes narrowed, meeting piercing gold briefly before a slew of vermilion feathers detached from the Pro Hero's back and flew towards the twins.

" _Shit_. Time to go, Hibiki." Nimble fingers curled around the collar of his brother's shirt, yanking him away from the ledge with dire urgency as the feathers flew high into the sky before changing trajectory and diving down towards the two teens.

"Fuck shit up." Hibiki's silver gaze drifted over to the three Nomu standing on the edge of the building as they awaited their orders, all at once the creatures jumped into action and took off in different directions.

The two teens dove straight into the swirling mist, narrowly escaping the crimson feathers honing in on them as the gateway closed behind them.

* * *

The trio had been trotting along, Hawks' feet planted firmly on the ground now as he walked in between his two interns. He tilted his head back, laughing, as he recounted a recent villain capture of his to the two teens, "And then he said, ' _I woulda gotten away with it if it weren't for that meddlin' chicken!'_ , I can't make this shit up, he was a regular ol' Scooby Doo villain if I've ever seen one."

Suddenly his entire demeanor changed, which didn't go unnoticed by the two teens on either side of him. His eyes narrowed behind his visor, shooting a hardened stare up towards the skyline as his bright, vermilion wings ruffled behind him. A flurry of feathers shot out from the wide expanse of his plumage, taking to the sky and chasing towards an unseen threat.

"Things are about to get interesting." The blonde's voice took on a more serious timbre, "Look sharp, you two."

Dark Shadow manifested, hovering behind his host protectively while chuckling darkly at the prospect of pounding some bad guys into the ground. Tokoyami shifted into a defensive stance, still unsure of what sort of threat they were facing but he was ready for whatever came their way.

Natsumi narrowed her eyes, her gaze trailing up to where the feathers had disappeared from sight, she caught sight of three large looming figures as they crouched on the ledge of the building above before leaping down and darting in various directions.

Her breath hitched as one of the creatures stomped towards them, it towered over them by several feet, staring down at the trio with beady, glowing red eyes. Its body was a mass of thick, pulsing sinewy muscles that glistened under the light of the street lamps. Its wide mouth opened, strings of saliva keeping its jaws connected.

"Hisame, Tsukuyomi, stay back and assist with the evacuation of the civilians while I handle this." Hawks ordered, barely sparing them a glance as he took to the air with a powerful flap of his wings, in a flash he was upon the creature, blasting it with a barrage of feathers. The Nomu didn't so much as flinch, instead, it clapped its palms together and a strong gust of wind formed, taking on the appearance of a small cyclone that disrupted the air flow around Hawks' wings, sending him tumbling backwards in the air before he was able to correct his flight path.

Crowds of panicked bystanders gathered on the sidewalks, cars stopped in the middle of the street while the passengers leaned to peer out of the window to catch sight of the No. 3 Hero in action. Some of the smarter civilians began to run, putting distance between them and the fight at hand, however, there were still a good majority of people who stood around gawking and cheering on their favorite Winged Hero.

Multitudes of feathers detached from Hawks' back and flew back towards the crowd, plucking as many civilians up as possible and flying them to a safer distance away. Tokoyami turned on his heel and ran towards the crowd, Dark Shadow expanded, his arms shot out to guide a large group of bystanders away from the fray.

"Everyone, listen up! Tsukuyomi and I are here to help get you all to safety!" Natsumi projected her voice as loud as she could above the panicked cries of the people and the sounds of the fight behind her. Many of the civilians turned to her as if just noticing her for the first time, "Follow me! We will guide you to a safer location to keep you out of harm's way!"

She waved her hand, urging the people to follow after her as she ran down the sidewalk with Tokoyami and Dark Shadow deciding to bring up the rear in order to keep the people safe from any attacks. They came upon a hospital several blocks away from the main battle and ushered the people inside.

"Please remain calm and stay within the confines of the hospital until the danger has subsided. We will alert the proper authorities and will return to you once it is safe for you to leave." Tokoyami spoke calmly, evenly, his dark eyes dancing across the faces crowded together in the lobby of the hospital.

"We're going to round up as many more people as we can and bring them back here, please stay where you are, thank you for your cooperation!" Natsumi shot a grin over her shoulder in hopes of reassuring the people that they could put their trust in her and Tokoyami.

The two teens exited the sliding doors of the building, even being blocks away from Hawks and the Nomu he was fighting they could still hear the guttural cries of the creature. The terrifying sound sent chills up their spines.

" _Oi, oi! Watch out!"_ Dark Shadow growled, shoving the ivory haired teen to the side as a creature detached itself from the building it had been climbing up the walls of and fell towards them. Natsumi corrected her balance at the last minute, keeping herself from falling to the ground from the force of Dark Shadow's push. She shot him a thankful nod for pulling her out of harms way, the creature had landed precisely in the same spot she had previously occupied.

It stood on all fours, taking on the vague appearance of some sort of canine with an elongated maw, rows upon rows of sharpened fangs and narrowed, red eyes that focused on the two teens hungrily. Its skin stretched taut over rippling muscle, it opened its jowls wide to allow a thick, purple tongue to poke out and lick its chops as it stalked forward predatorily. The creature let out a piercing growl so shrill it shattered the glass of every building within the vicinity and had Natsumi and Tokoyami covering their ears tightly.

"I'm going to lead it away before it gets too close to the hospital!" She winced through gritted teeth, her head throbbing in pain from the sharp, piercing sound the Nomu emitted. Finally, the creature's battle cry ended and the two teens were able to catch their bearings just in time for the beast to leap forward with incredible speed, its large heavy paws thundering against the pavement.

Tokoyami's eyes widened, his back straightened before he dodged out of the way of the oncoming beast. Dark Shadow flared up angrily around his host before shooting forward, matching the speed of the beast as he closed in on his target, shadowy claws stretched out. Dark Shadow let out a growl, sinking his claws into the back of the Nomu.

The Nomu let out a feral cry, bucking its back and swinging its head back and forth, snapping its jaws in an attempt to get ahold of the shadowed entity clinging to its back. In one swift movement, it jutted out its back legs and kicked Dark Shadow off of it. It whirled around, lowering its head threateningly.

"Hey! Over here! You hungry? I've got a snack for you~!" Natsumi called out, having already put several yards between herself and the creature. She held her palms out in front of herself, shooting icy projectiles at the Nomu and watching in satisfaction as her frozen weapons made contact with the beast, leaving small wounds in the side of its body. The pained growl it let out had her running farther down the street now that she had its attention, the sound of its thunderous feet against the pavement had her chancing a glance over her shoulder. She let out a string of curses as it gained momentum, getting closer and closer to her with every stride.

 _Shit. SHIT. SHIT!_ She swore with each footfall, she was fast but not fast enough. The Nomu let out a triumphant growl as it leapt forward, it's massive body colliding with hers and sending her tumbling to the pavement. Its massive paws were on either side of her head, trapping her beneath its body as it brought it's head down, lips curled back to show yellowed fangs. Strings of drool slipped out from its jowls; a rope of saliva splashed against her face but she was too stunned to turn away.

" _Heads up, ugly!"_ Dark Shadow screeched as he flew forward at top speed, body slamming into the Nomu and successfully knocking it off of Natsumi.

Tokoyami skidded to a halt at her side, his eyes briefly rising to catch a glimpse of Dark Shadow as he swiped at the creature with his claws again, dodging out of the way of the Nomu's powerful jaws. He tore his gaze away from his familiar, holding a hand out to the teen who accepted it without hesitation, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He frowned, noticing that the sleeves of her costume had been hiked up from skidding against the pavement and there were various scrapes and bruises already forming against her pale skin.

She waved off his concern, "Yeah, I'll live. Thanks for coming to my aid."

He nodded his head, "We should lead it closer to where Hawks is, we're still too close to the Hospital for my liking."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm going to use my ice to travel, it'll make me faster and I should be able to out-maneuver the Nomu this time. Is it okay if I hold onto you so that we can go together? I don't like the thought of leaving you behind." Crimson eyes searched his own for permission, she didn't want to do anything that would make her classmate feel uncomfortable but they needed to move fast and get away from this part of the city.

Tokoyami pursed his lips together, staring between her and where Dark Shadow and the Nomu were viciously attacking each other, before turning back to her and nodding, "It makes the most sense in this situation." Her turned to Dark Shadow and called out, "We are going to lead it away, Dark Shadow let's go!" The familiar perked up at the sound of his Host calling out to him, getting one last swipe in before returning to Tokoyami and Natsumi, waving his arms around in a taunting manner to keep the beast's attention on him.

Natsumi nodded, reaching forward and allowing her fingers to curl around his wrist to tug him closer to herself. The temperature around them dropped drastically in a matter of seconds as a thick sheet of ice formed beneath her feet and she used it to propel them forward down the sidewalk, "Is it following?"

Tokoyami's breath had caught in his throat the moment they began to move, almost surprised by the velocity at which she was able to move them. He blinked against the wind stinging his eyes and glanced back, Dark Shadow was clinging to his back and blowing raspberries at the Nomu that was hot on their tail, "He has taken the bait and is following closely behind us."

Her lips pulled back into a pleased smirk, "Perfect."

They were so close. The sounds of Hawks fighting against his own enemy had become much louder the closer they got to the city center. Several lesser known Pro Heroes were now on the scene and fighting against a third Nomu, this one had the appearance of some mutated, overgrown lizard.

Natsumi breathed a sigh of relief when she caught sight of familiar crimson plumage hovering over the street, his fingers curled tightly around two extra-long primary feathers that he was currently using to slash relentlessly at the Nomu with.

"Kurosawa, it's gaining on us!" Tokoyami hissed in her ear, his eyes widening as the beast burst forward with incredibly speed, its jaws opened wide in anticipation of making an easy meal of the two Hero Course students.

Dark Shadow growled menacingly bursting forward and shove the creature away when it came too close for comfort.

Natsumi slowed to a stop and both teens whirled around to face their opponent properly, realizing that that needed to take it down before it got bored of their cat and mouse game and ventured off to cause damage elsewhere.

Hawks was still preoccupied with his own Nomu, but knowing that he was in the same plaza and could aide them should the need arise gave them an extra boost of confidence.

"I think we're far enough away from the hospital now." Natsumi huffed as she worked on catching her breath.

Tokoyami nodded in agreement, narrowing his eyes at the creature as it shook off Dark Shadow's attack and turned to face the two teens with renewed vigor, "Let's end this as quickly as possible."

Her lips split into a wide grin, "I like the way you think."

She placed herself in a defensive stance, sliding her left leg forward while bringing both of her hands forward, palms outstretched towards the creature as he barreled towards them. A flurry of sharp, frozen shards materialized before her and shot towards the Nomu at breakneck speed. It was able to dodge quite a few of her icy weapons but, ultimately, was struck down by the remaining multitudes of ice.

The Nomu was down for only a few seconds before it shot back to its feet with an irritated growl, lunging towards the teens once more. Tokoyami growled out commands to Dark Shadow who eagerly obeyed, shooting forward with shadowed claws outstretched.

Natsumi ground her foot against the pavement, watching as a sheet of ice raced alongside Dark Shadow towards the intended target. The beast lowered its head as the ice and shadowy opponent neared it, the teens watched in startled horror as the Nomu opened its jowls wide, an amber spark lighting the back of its throat before a sudden burst of flames shot out, melting the incoming ice instantaneously. Dark Shadow awkwardly maneuvered his body out of the way to avoid taking a direct hit.

"Well, that's new." Natsumi's eyes narrowed in concern as she watched the flames dance across her line of vision, turning her ice into puddles that then evaporated into the air. Her ice was at a huge disadvantage.

Dark Shadow was back by his host's side hovering protectively around the boy while glaring at the beast as it spewed flames from its gaping mouth. Tokoyami bit the inside of his cheek, "The situation has escalated far beyond what we are capable of containing. We should fall back and alert Hawks and the other Pro Heroes of our plight."

Crimson eyes darted to meet the dark gaze of Tokoyami as she considered his suggestion. She knew he was right, but the feeling of utter and absolute defeat clung to her at the mere thought of giving up and seeking help from someone else. But…they were outmatched in that aspect, they couldn't beat a damn fire Quirk. It wasn't as if they were even supposed to be engaging the Nomu in the first place, Hawks had instructed them to help with the evacuation of the civilians.

"I know I— _move_!" Her eyes widened and she rushed forward as the Nomu sprung towards her companion, catching the boy off guard as its jaws tightly wrapped around his right arm.

The beast chomped down harder, fangs piercing through soft flesh, angry streams of crimson oozed from between the Nomu's teeth, droplets splattering against the pavement below as Tokoyami grit his teeth, determined not to cry out despite the agonizing pain he was experiencing. He swung his free arm around, fingers digging into one of the Nomu's eyes as Dark Shadow let out an ear piercing screech, using his large shadowy appendages to attempt to pry the jaws off of his host's arm.

Natsumi was upon them in seconds, teeth gnashing together in white-hot rage as she sent a wave of ice barreling into the side of the creature. It let out a pained yelp, but held its ground, teeth tightening around Tokoyami's arm with a sickening _crunch_.

The boy hissed in pain, fingers digging further into the eye socket of the Nomu.

" _I'LL fUcKinG KiLL yOu_!" Dark Shadow growled out menacingly, clamping his beak around the muzzle of the creature.

Natsumi cried out in frustration, simultaneously sending a large ice spike as well as her trademark frozen daggers shooting towards the Nomu. The spike lodged itself in the side of the creature, catching it by surprise long enough for it to let out a cry of pain and releasing Tokoyami's arm in the same breath before shaking its head to rid itself of Dark Shadow's presence.

"Tsukuyomi, get back!" She commanded, her eyes never once leaving the Nomu's form as she constructed a wall of ice between her teammate and the angry beast.

The Nomu faltered, stumbling sideways as it contorted its body so that it could get a better view of the thick ice spear protruding from its abdomen. It opened its jaws wide enough to spew flames from within, melting the ice instantly and leaving a gaping hole in its side.

"Dark Shadow, if possible can you put pressure on his arm to help stop the bleeding? Tokoyami, it's going to hurt like a bitch but it'll help keep you from bleeding out." She called out to the two hidden behind her wall of ice.

" _Aye, aye_!" Dark Shadow gave her a mock salute, though she was unable to see him do it, before wrapping his hands around the bleeding wound on his host's broken arm. Tokoyami let out a hiss of pain, eyes stinging with his attempt to focus on keeping a lookout to ensure the beast didn't come back for them.

"Kurosawa! Go get help, you can't take it on yourself!" He shouted to her through gritted teeth.

"I also can't just leave you here by yourself." She shot back, "I'll keep going as long as I can, until one of the Pros are able to come take over."

The Nomu let out a loud screech, stumbling over its own feet as a trail of crimson leaked from the wound in its side, but the beast was determined to continue fighting. It dragged its claws against the concrete, lowering its head in a sweeping motion while letting loose a flurry of dancing flames.

The fire burned brilliantly, catching on anything that it could cling to, ravaging store fronts and eating up outdoor plants, climbing the walls of the buildings around them.

 _Fuck, fuck, Fuck!_

Natsumi shifted her weight from one foot to the other, biting her lip anxiously as the flames grew, she could see from the corner of her eye the wall of ice she had created as a protective barrier had begun to melt. Thankfully, it was only the two buildings closest to the monster that he caught fire, but she knew that if something wasn't done quickly that the entire row of buildings would go up in flames.

Palms outstretched towards the beast, she knew it was a long shot and likely wouldn't make much of a difference, but she was desperate. Ice shot forward towards the flames, her hope was that the ice would melt upon contact and that moisture would help put out the fire—unfortunately, that's not what happened. As the ice met with the extreme heat, it melted, sizzling steam rose forward but it did nothing to quell the angry flames.

The creature snorted, bursting through its own wall of flames and lunging straight for the ivory haired teen, jaws snatching her arm tightly before shaking her body as if he was attempting to rip it off. He let go of her and her body was flung through the air until her body collided with the brick wall of one of the store fronts. Her head crashed against the stone with a sickening _crack_ , there was a high-pitched ringing in her ears and the feeling of warmth trailing down her face from the impact.

Tentatively, Natsumi reached up to brush her fingers against her throbbing skull, when she pulled her hand away she wasn't surprised to see the sticky crimson clinging to her finger tips. A pained groan escaped her as she worked on pulling herself back to her feet, albeit, much slower than she would have liked to.

She stood on shaky legs, the stinging pain in her skull almost too much for her to handle, but she needed to keep Tokoyami safe and couldn't afford to fail.

The Nomu let out a low growl, running at her again, she was able to hastily dodge out of the way and scramble to her feet just in time to somersault out of the way of yet another attack. Natsumi was beginning to feel dizzy from a combination of the blood loss as well as the throbbing in her head.

 _I need…I need to figure out a way to put out that fire._ Her breathing was shaky, _warm thoughts, Natsu, there's gotta be a way to activate the other part of your Quirk._

She erected a large wall of ice, deciding that she would start with that as the base of her attack. Her hands rose up slowly from her sides, fingers twitching as she concentrated solely on the frozen molecules of water, tugging and pulling at them, willing them to vibrate quickly within their frozen state. Slowly, her wall of ice began to sweat, beads of water dripped down the block of ice as it melted. It wasn't until the ice had become more of a slush that she thrust her palm forward, willing the sloppy wave of slushy liquid to surge forward towards the crackling flames slowly engulfing the storefronts. It shifted forward in a disorderly fashion as she struggled to maintain control over the half-liquid form, her natural instinct was to re-freeze it but she knew that ice wouldn't help much, she needed it to be as melted as possible in order to do any real damage to the burning embers.

With a final push, the half-frozen wave sloshed forward, dousing the flames with a sizzling hiss, splashing against concrete and brick.

Natsumi's lips curled into a small, satisfied grin at the sight, "Ha! Not pretty, but it work— _oof_!"

The wind was knocked out of her as the Nomu tackled her from the side, taking advantage of her momentary lapse in judgement and distraction over her brief victory. She skidded against the pavement for a moment before creating an icy slope behind her to prevent her body from continuing with its trajectory.

"Kurosawa!" Tokoyami's voice called out in concern, he was unable to see her past his protective barrier of ice, but had heard what he could only assume was her body colliding with concrete once more.

"'m fine." She groaned out, tasting a familiar tangy, metallic taste on her tongue. Her eyes widened as the beast reared back, ready to fire off its flame attack point blank…when suddenly a barrage of vermilion feathers barreled into its side, sending it flying into a nearby brick wall with a horrifying thud.

"Need a hand, little bird?" Hawks swooped down from the sky, hovering with his back to her as he twirled the two extra-long primary feathers between his fingers, preparing to finish off the Nomu that had plagued his interns.

The blonde was a little beat up from his own fight, his hair was messier than usual, feathers were ruffled and looking a little sparse, and a thin crack spread across the right side of his visor from a hit he had sustained. But he had successfully defeated his own monster and then helped the other Pros take out the other one, now he was here to finish off the final beast.

"Good work putting out those flames, chickadee." He grinned over his shoulder at her when he noticed the blackened scorch marks that licked up the side of several buildings, a sheen of condensation clinging to the bricks and dripping to the pavement where puddles had already formed, "I caught the tail end of that attack, you've improved a lot and it's only been a day! Gotta say, super impressed~!"

She pulled herself up into a sitting position, wrapping an arm around herself in an attempt to dull the blossoming pain in her chest. Natsumi let out a low groan, _I got more fucked up than I anticipated._

Hawks shot forward with his feather swords and sliced through the Nomu, though it was already on death's doorstep from its previous injuries and therefore didn't put up much of a fight at all. The Winged-Hero fluttered back over to his interns after ensuring the danger was over, "Ah, shit. You two don't look so hot." His trademark grin faltered, slipping into a frown, "Paramedics are on their way, you should both get looked at."

Natsumi nodded mutely, halfheartedly raising her free hand to recall the frozen molecules of water that had formed the protective barrier around Tokoyami until it no longer existed. The boy was breathing raggedly, teeth clenched uncomfortably as the pain in his arm took over all other senses now that there was no longer an imminent danger for him to concern himself over.

She cradled her pounding head with her free hand while keeping her other hand tightly wrapped around her abdomen as nausea washed over her. The adrenaline had worn off completely and now she was beginning to feel the pain induced by the fight.

The paramedics arrived shortly after, fussing over the two teenagers before gently placing them on stretchers, sliding them into the back of the waiting ambulance to cart them off to the hospital a few blocks away.

Natsumi thought that the extra attention being paid to her was unneeded, she was exhausted, her eyes grew heavy with the promise of sleep on the horizon but every time her eyelids dipped closed one of the paramedics would abruptly wake her.

"I apologize, but we suspect that you may have sustained a concussion. Until it has been confirmed or denied I am unable to allow you to fall asleep." His voice was gentle, but firm, in his resolve to keep a watchful eye over her and prevent her from drifting off.

* * *

The next couple of hours were spent at the hospital getting checked over by the doctors on staff, it was determined that she had a mild concussion, three broken ribs and a plethora of bruises and scrapes scattered across her body. She hadn't seen Tokoyami since they had first arrived at the hospital, his injuries had been more severe than hers and he had been immediately rushed off to the emergency room to stop the bleeding and determine just how damaged his arm had gotten.

It was close to two in the morning when she and Tokoyami were finally discharged from the hospital, the boy was sporting a sling for his broken arm while she had bandages wrapped tightly around the top of her head.

"Well aren't you two a sight for sore eyes." Hawks chuckled, arms crossed over his chest as he pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against while waiting for the two teens.

Natsumi rolled her eyes and shrugged, "It could've been worse."

The Winged-Hero blinked, his lips upturning at the corners, "You're right, it definitely could have been. You two were able to get as many civilians to safety as you could and then fought bravely to protect them. You were even able to put out the fire before it caused too much destruction." His fierce amber gaze bounced between the two, "So, good job, kids~!"

Tokoyami bit the inside of his cheek, dark eyes rising to meet his mentor's stare, "So we are not going to be punished?"

Hawks carefully observed the two teens for a moment, his piercing golden stare raking over their forms, before letting out a laugh, "Nah, I think your injuries were punishment enough. Plus, I technically never told you that you couldn't fight, I emphasized that you needed to evacuate the bystanders and that's exactly what you did. You prioritized their safety first before jumping in to defend the hospital against the Nomu."

The three had left the hospital together, slowly making their way down the street and towards Hawks' Agency while they talked. The streets were eerily quiet, much calmer than they had been hours before, but it was a welcomed silence that bordered peacefulness.

"Though," Hawks scratched at his chin thoughtfully, "with those injuries I guess we'll have to end your internship early."

Both teens abruptly turned their attention to the Pro Hero, startled by the words that had tumbled past his lips. Natsumi let out an indignant squeak, while Tokoyami choked on his own saliva at the revelation.

"You can't do that!" The ivory haired teen argued.

"Face it, you two aren't exactly in any shape to be going on any more patrols with those broken bones of yours and the hospital here doesn't have anyone with a healing Quirk sufficient enough to fix the injuries you sustained." The blonde shrugged his shoulder lazily, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his plush-lined jacket.

"He's right, Kurosawa." Tokoyami frowned, hanging his head dejectedly.

She narrowed her eyes at her classmate before turning her heated glare to the Winged Hero, "No."

Hawks tilted his head, raising one eyebrow precariously above the other and donning an amused smirk at her stubborn attitude, "Oh?"

"We can take the train back home to visit Recovery Girl for a day and get our injuries healed enough for us to be cleared to go back to work. There's absolutely no way I'm willing to give up the chance to learn more from this experience now that you're taking things seriously." She crossed her arms over her chest, wincing as a sharp pain pulsed through her from her arms brushing against the bruised flesh beneath her costume.

The blonde hummed lowly at her offer, tipping his chin back in thought before sliding his amber stare over to her from the corner of his eye, "You drive a hard bargain, little dove."

"So, we have a deal, then?" Her lips curled into a hopeful grin.

"Oh, I suppose~!" He sing-songed with a laugh, "We'll get everything squared away in the morning. You two had a rough night and probably should get some rest before being stuck on a train for another six hours."

Her grin slipped _. Fuck, I forgot how long the ride was…_

* * *

Despite the promise of a good night's rest lingering in the air from the night before, neither Tokoyami nor Natsumi had the chance to rest much between the time they arrived back at the Agency to when they had to be up to catch their train the next morning.

" _Oi, oi, we're here, wake up, rise an' shine_!" Dark Shadow rose up from within Tokoyami, hovering over the sleeping girl in the seat across from the bird-boy. He nudged her with a shadowy appendage, grinning when she began to stir from his prodding.

"I am so tired. Why did I suggest this?" Natsumi let out an irritated groan, sitting up in her seat and stretching her arms high above her head until she heard a satisfying pop of her joints. She settled back into her seat, resisting the urge to scratch at the itchy bandages still wrapped around her forehead.

"Because you were just as eager to continue our internship as I was and the prospect of having to cut our time with Hawks short due to our injuries didn't bode well with either of us." Tokoyami answered her rhetorical question for her as they both stood from their seats as the train came to a stuttering halt.

Dark Shadow retreated to his resting place once more, unwilling to stay out in the open now that they would be venturing out into the brightness of the early morning.

The two teens shuffled off of the train car, sidling up next to each other as they stepped onto the platform. They were mildly surprised to not only find Aizawa leaning against a concrete pillar, but Shinsou was next to him staring blankly at his phone. Upon seeing the two students, Aizawa pushed himself away from the pillar and strode towards the them, his face half hidden by the capture weapon wound loosely around his neck.

"Why am I not surprised that you have, _once again_ , found yourself in the middle of trouble, Kurosawa?" He drawled, dark eyes boring into her before his gaze shifted over to the boy fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater beside her, "I am surprised that you allowed her to drag you into a fight you couldn't possibly win. You both still have much to learn."

The two teens dropped their heads in shame, finding themselves unable to meet the stern and disappointed stare of their teacher.

"I don't regret it."

Aizawa's brow lifted, eyes narrowing at the ivory haired teen as she mumbled under her breath, "Care to repeat that?"

She lifted her head, meeting his gaze, "Tokoyami-kun and I were able to get the civilians to safety and keep the Nomu from attacking the Hospital by leading it away. Yeah, we sustained injuries from the fight but it was worth it knowing that there were no casualties last night because the Nomu was focused on fighting us. So, I don't regret it."

Tokoyami nodded his head, finding his own confidence to meet their teacher's stare head on, "Neither do I. We kept the beast at bay and wore it down until Hawks was able to finish it off and end the fight."

Aizawa observed the two teens for a moment, he wasn't surprised by Natsumi's bold way of speaking to him but he was caught off guard by the ordinarily calm and polite Tokoyami speaking up for their actions. He closed his eyes briefly, expelling a stream of air from his nostrils before dipping his chin further into his capture weapon to hide the smirk pulling at his lips.

"We're wasting valuable time by idling around the station." He gave the two a pointed stare before turning on his heels, knowing that they'd follow after him.

Tokoyami and Natsumi exchanged a brief look before moving to catch up to their teacher, trailing behind him a few paces. Shinsou had taken the time to stride towards the ivory haired girl, falling into step beside her with his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his trousers.

"Should I be concerned by your propensity for getting yourself into messy situations?" His lips twitched into a small, amused smile. The lilac haired boy wouldn't admit it, but when Aizawa had mentioned that they were taking time away from their training that morning to pick up the two teens from the train station to guide them to the hospital Shinsou had felt mildly panicked. Not so much for the bird-boy, but because the thought of Natsumi being severely injured, _again_ , literally a week after having been impaled at the Sports Festival just didn't sit well with him.

He had sent her several text messages the previous day, none of which had been responded to, and now he knew why. Because she had somehow gotten herself mixed up in a fight with one of those Nomu creatures. The news stations had glossed over the fight in Fukuoka in favor of covering the one in Hosu due to the Hero Killer's involvement, so Shinsou wasn't privy on the nitty gritty details of what had happened but he was keen on getting the full story from her later in the day.

His indigo stare lingered on the bandages wrapped firmly around her head, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Trouble just seems to follow me wherever I go." Natsumi glanced up at him, a breathy laugh escaping her.

He pulled his lips into a tight line as he considered her answer, doing his best to ignore the sudden pounding of his heart against his ribcage as she gently bumped her shoulder against his arm. Shinsou furrowed his brows, shaking his head to clear away those intrusive thoughts before turning to her and rolling his eyes, "So it would seem."

The walk to Hosu General Hospital wasn't a very long one, thankfully, as both Tokoyami and Natsumi were still very sore from the night before and wouldn't have been able to handle extended bouts of exercise at this point.

Once checked in, Aizawa guided them to the third floor, stopping outside of one of the rooms and turning to the students trailing behind him, "Join the other three problem children, I'll go let Recovery Girl know that you're here."

Tokoyami nodded his head and obediently pushed through the door with his good hand, greeting the three boys on the other side with a solemn smile. Natsumi picked up her pace and was about to join her classmates when she felt a gentle tug on the sleeve of her sweater, stopping her just as she crossed the threshold of the room, the four boys inside staring at her expectantly.

She tilted her head to the side, curious crimson meeting imploring indigo, the two teens stared at each other for a brief moment, having their own silent conversation that was lost on the four boys already inside the room. Natsumi turned to face her classmates with a soft smile, "I'll be in in a few minutes!" The subtle change in the expressions of her classmates waiting inside for her went unnoticed by Natsumi—Midoriya's encouraging smile, Iida's curious but tight-lipped stare, Tokoyami's soft hum and nonchalant shrug, and Todoroki's narrowed eyes, lips pulling into a frown at her disappearance. She turned on her heel, feeling Shinsou's grip on her sleeve loosen before his hand fell back to his side once he was sure that she was following him out into the corridor of the hospital.

They ventured further down the hallway until they came to a small sitting area tucked away from the rest of the ward, it was just the two of them in the quiet corridor. Once satisfied that they were far enough away from prying eyes, Shinsou turned to face her.

They stared at each other for a couple of moments, silently urging the other to break the quietude that had settled over them.

"What exactly happened?"

"So, Aizawa-sensei, huh?"

Words tumbled out simultaneously, melting into a confusing, jumbled mess that hung awkwardly in the air around them. They blinked, slowly an amused smirk curled its way onto his pale lips while Natsumi laughed quietly at the exchange.

Shinsou brought his hand up to rub at the back of his neck, averting his indigo gaze from her while he contemplated his next words. He had been perplexed by Aizawa's proposal to train him to begin with considering he wasn't in the Hero Course and no one had ever heard of someone in General Studies interning with a Pro Hero.

"That day you, oh so gracefully, ran into me as I was leaving the teacher's lounge was the day he had asked me to meet him there to discuss the terms of the internship."

She furrowed her brows in thought, _I didn't even need to say anything, did I? He had already asked Shinsou to intern under him._

His eyes were back on her, watching the subtle changes in her expression—the scrunch of her nose, the dip of her brows, and the soft smile playing on her lips that signified she was lost in her own thoughts. _Cute_.

Natsumi pulled herself out of her thoughts, beaming brightly at the boy, "That's great, Shinsou. I knew it was just a matter of time before you were noticed, especially after how great you were in the Sports Festival."

Shinsou bit the inside of his cheek, a light pink dusting over his cheeks at her compliment. He wasn't used to receiving praise, especially when it came to his Quirk and the utilization of it and therefore wasn't sure how to react to such sugary words.

"I didn't get _that_ far in the Sports Festival." He mumbled awkwardly after a beat of silence.

She narrowed her eyes, leaning closer to him so that she was in his line of sight, "Are you kidding me? You were one of only _two_ people _not_ from the Hero Course to make it into the third event. Not to mention the fact that your Quirk is solely mental based and you were up against kids who not only had physical quirks but also weeks of training under their belt—your performance was seriously impressive; you should be proud."

Shinsou angled his chin to the side to hide his embarrassment from her, when she slid over to his side, getting closer to him than he was currently comfortable with he let out a quiet grunt. Natsumi raised a curious brow at his response, letting out an amused laugh.

"Oh? What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Her lips pulled back into a cheeky grin.

He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, "As if. I was trying to remember if you've always been this obnoxious."

She leaned back on her heels, bottom lip jutting out in an indignant pout at his reply, "So fucking rude."

Shinsou smirked, "Alright, you're turn. I answered your initial question, now answer mine."

Natsumi let out a hum, clasping her hands behind her back, "Oh, nothing really to say other than we were on patrol with Hawks and three Nomu just…appeared out of nowhere. Tokoyami-kun and I ended up evacuating the people in the plaza before taking on one of the Nomu. It was a pretty intense fight, we almost died a few times, we saved each other a couple times, you know, hero stuff." She ended with a mischievous grin.

He let out an annoyed snort at her lack of a detailed explanation, "Hero stuff, huh?" He leaned forward a little with a cocked brow, "Sounds like you hit your head pretty hard there, Kurosawa."

"Oh, I did."

The lilac haired boy frowned at her unexpected response, he had just been teasing, "Right. I guess I should get back to Aizawa-sensei before he comes looking for me and _you_ should probably get your injuries tended to."

She nodded her head, bringing up a finger to sheepishly scratch at her cheek, "You're right, the pain killers I'm on right now are amazing but I'll feel so much better once my ribs are healed and my head stops feeling like its in a vice."

He felt his chest clench at her admission as he turned to walk her back to the room where her classmates were waiting. _She really does have a penchant for getting injured,_ he mused darkly _._

When they made it back to the room she pushed the door open and then paused, smirking over her shoulder at the wild haired boy, "Don't let Aizawa-sensei rough you up too bad."

He snorted, turning on his heel and lazily lifting his right hand to motion 'goodbye' to her as he stalked off down the hallway, presumably to go find his mentor to get back to their training.

Natsumi fully entered the room and offered the four boys inside a bright smile, "Sorry I was late to the first meeting of the Aizawa's Problematic Children Club, or the APCC for short, I'll be sure to show up in a timely manner for our next meeting."

Midoriya chuckled, offering her a teasing smile, "So, he gave you the same speech as us then, I'm assuming?"

She cleared the distance between them, taking a seat on the edge of Midoriya's bed, "Oh I have no doubt about that—said that he wasn't surprised to see that I had gotten caught up in some serious shit." Her laugh echoed through the quiet of the room, easing the tension that had built up during her absence.

"In all seriousness though," She started, her lips tipping into a soft smile as she gave the boys each a once over, "I'm really glad that you're all okay."

Iida spoke from his bed across the room, "I will strive to regain the trust of you and the rest of our classmates, I apologize for letting my thoughts of vengeance get the better of me." He hung his head in shame, still feeling guilty over the whole ordeal and that he had pulled Midoriya and Todoroki into his personal vendetta against the Hero Killer.

Todoroki frowned, he was sitting up in his own hospital bed next to the mossy haired boy, his heterochromatic gaze lingering on her thoughtfully, "I'm happy that you and Tokoyami made it out of your ordeal alive and well too."

Natsumi turned to give the dual-color haired boy her attention, offering him a teasing grin, "Oh, you're not getting rid of me that easily. It'll take way more than some bioengineered freak of nature to take me out."

" _There were some close calls though!"_ Dark Shadow appeared, peeking over Tokoyami's shoulder, " _If it weren't for me you wouldn't be here~!"_

Tokoyami grimaced, turning his head to glare at Dark Shadow, lifting his good arm and swatting at the creature, "Be more considerate of the situation."

Natsumi laughed, splaying her palms against the itchy sheets of the bed and leaning back on them, "No, no, he's right—thank you Dark Shadow and Tokoyami for keeping me alive last night. There were definitely a few moments where I probably wouldn't have made it to see today if you hadn't jumped in to save me."

The other three boys all stared at the two with varying degrees of horrorstruck expressions over the words being exchanged between Hawks' two interns. The story that Tokoyami had told them about the night before hadn't been incredibly detailed and had certainly left out the parts that the two were referring to.

Tokoyami turned away from the pest clinging to his shoulders and settled his stare on the ivory haired teen staring over her shoulder at him, "You also kept me alive with your actions. Thank you for protecting me against that heinous beast, especially after it broke my arm."

She brought up a hand to wave dismissively, "Don't mention, we're even now."

Todoroki furrowed his brows, "It seems as if the situation last night was much more dire than we were originally lead to believe." He shot a pointed stare in Tokoyami's direction, silently questioning the boy why he would have left out the details of their near death experiences.

"A-ah, well I-I'm happy that your injuries weren't more severe and that you were both there to have each other's backs!" Midoriya interjected, his eyes glinting with appreciation, "And I heard you both saved a lot of people by evacuating them before things got too intense. You're real Heroes!"

Natsumi laughed awkwardly, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of her neck while trying to fight back the blush that threatened to spill across her cheeks at his praise, "Ah, I don't know about that…."

Midoriya shook his head, "No, you really are. You both jumped in without hesitation to not only get the civilians to safety but to protect them from the Nomu that threatened the hospital they were staying in. You risked your lives for those people, those were acts of true heroism."

"What about you guys? You went head to head with the Hero Killer despite the fact that he was out of your league in terms of strength and strategy—he was an S Rank villain—that's so brave I can't even wrap my head around it." She brought up in an attempt to deflect the conversation away from her and Tokoyami, feeling too uncomfortable by the praise she had been receiving.

The three boys all shared a look that didn't go unnoticed by the two not involved in the attack. Iida frowned shamefully, "That entire situation was my fault and I take full responsibility for seeking out Stain to enact my revenge. There is nothing heroic about my actions, I am truly grateful for Midoriya-san and Todoroki-san for risking their lives to protect mine."

"I don't regret my actions, they kept Iida-kun alive and lead to the capture of the Hero Killer, but…I won't lie, I am disappointed that as a result of my injuries I will not be able to continue my internship." Midoriya's lips tilted into a disappointed frown.

Natsumi hummed sadly, she could relate to the feeling of failure and disappointment that the boy felt at having to end his training and internship early. Luckily, she had been able to convince Hawks to allow them to seek treatment from Recovery Girl and keep them on for the remainder of the week, but they had been so close be being sent home.

Moments later Recovery Girl strolled into the room, smiling pleasantly at the students inside before her eyes landed on Tokoyami, "Come with me, I will work on you first as it seems that your injuries are greater than Kurosawa's were. Let me see what I can do for you."

The boy nodded absently, pushing himself out of his seat, allowing Dark Shadow to retreat back to his hiding space, before following the healing Pro out of the door and into a more private room so she could assess the extent of the damage.

"You know," Midoriya began, index finger and thumb resting against his chin in contemplation, "it's a strange coincidence that the Nomu appeared in two cities on the complete opposite ends of the country on the same night. At first, I thought that maybe the attack was staged by the League of Villains to detract from the attention that the Hero Killer was gaining but…if that was the case then why also attack Fukuoka?"

Natsumi had been wondering the exact same thing to be completely honest, it didn't make sense to her for the League of Villains to attack Fukuoka—it seemed so completely random. Maybe it was just a random attack meant to keep the Heroes on their toes. But, something in her told her that the League was more thoughtful and strategic than that, there had to be some sort of reasoning behind the assault.

"Do you think…" Todoroki started, his voice quiet as he contemplated the next words that would come out of his mouth. His eyes snapped up, meeting Natsumi's curious crimson gaze,"…maybe it had something to do with your ties to the League, Kurosawa?"

Her brows furrowed and her jaw dropped open at the insinuation. The thought had crossed her mind very briefly after she had left the hospital the night before but she wasn't that conceited and self-centered to think that the League would stage an attack just to get her attention. In the grand scheme of things, she was nobody worth such an effort.

"I don't think that's the case, Todoroki." Her lips pulled back into a frown, "I could've died last night. I know that Hibi-chan and Ryou-nii haven't been in my life the past couple of years but I can't imagine that they'd willingly put me in harms way just to get my attention."

The dual color haired boy narrowed his eyes just a fraction, his chest clenching at the familiarity with which she had addressed the twin villains with. Even after all this time it was evident in her tone and the subtle facial expressions that she adorned when speaking about them that she still cared about the two villains.

"I'm just offering it as a possibility." He responded, meeting her level gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"I appreciate your input, it's just unlikely." She retorted quickly, never once tearing her eyes away from his own to emphasize her own resolve.

Midoriya awkwardly coughed, effectively pulling his two friends out of their silent staring match and bringing their attention to him. He fidgeted a little under Natsumi's curious gaze, playing with the edge of the bedsheets draped around his lower body before giving her an eager, hopeful look, "C-could you maybe tell me a little bit about Hawks?"

Natsumi blinked, letting out a laugh at the innocent question posed by the boy, "You're such a Hero Otaku." But, nonetheless, she delved into a detailed conversation with the wild mossy haired boy, telling him about her and Tokoyami's experiences with the Winged Hero as well as letting him know about the man's easy-going goofy personality and his love for chicken and bird jokes.

After another twenty minutes of easy conversation between her and the three boys, Tokoyami returned looking much more refreshed than he had before he had left. His arm was still in a sling but when she questioned him on it he mentioned that he was to keep it restrained until the next morning, by then his body should have healed the injury completely.

"Kurosawa, dear, you're up." Recovery Girl smiled warmly, beckoning the girl to follow her for her treatment.

"That's my cue, I'll see you boys in a bit." She eased herself off of the edge of Midoriya's bed and padded softly towards the older woman who was waiting patiently in the doorway for her.

Natsumi followed close behind the Pro Healer, it didn't take them long to reach their destination; a small examination room at the end of the hallway. Recovery Girl motioned for the teen to take a seat in a green cushioned chair with wide arm rests, Natsumi did as she was told while watching the older woman flit about to gather the proper instruments she'd need to conduct her examination.

"I have read over the medical history report sent over by the emergency clinic you visited last night so I am familiar with your injuries. I'm going to start with a basic exam before starting the healing process, okay, dear?" Recovery Girl smiled kindly at her, pulling up a chair next to the teen before setting to work checking Natsumi's vitals.

It was a basic exam, she listened to Natsumi's heart and lungs, assessed her reflexes, took a temperature, and checked her blood pressure. The results were pretty unextraordinary, all coming back completely normal with the exception of her body temperature being in the low 40s but even that was normal to Natsumi's personal biology.

"It is my understanding that you sustained a concussion as well as several broken ribs that are preventing you from continuing with your internship. The treatment I give you today may take up to twenty-four hours to reach its maximum effect so I strongly advise that you take it easy the rest of today, understood?" The older woman locked eyes with the crimson eyed teen, once she received a quick nod in response, the healer puckered her lips and gave the girl a few kisses.

The pain in her head and chest subsided instantly and Natsumi found herself letting out a satisfied breath as relief flooded her.

"Thank you! I'll be sure to take it easy the rest of today, I promise." The ivory haired teen grinned, pushing herself out of her seat and starting for the door.

"You better!" Recovery Girl teased, eyes softening, "I must warn you that my Quirk will very likely make you feel exhausted beyond belief as it begins to work on your internal injuries, which is why I stress strict bed rest for the rest of the day."

Glancing back over her shoulder, Natsumi nodded in understanding, "Got it, thanks again!"

She made her way back to the room where her friends were currently holed up inside, already feeling much better physically then she had been. There was an extra bounce in her step as she practically skipped through the doorway, "You ready to go, Tokoyami-kun?"

Midoriya tilted his head, "Are you feeling better?"

She nodded, "I'm as good as new! Now its time to get back and finish the rest of our week with Hawks."

Tokoyami nodded reverently as he pulled himself to his feet and bid the other boys farewell on his way out of the door, "Good luck to you all, I look forward to exchanging more stories with you once we return to class."

The other boys nodded their heads, each muttering their own forms of 'goodbye' to the two teens as they ambled out into the hallway, ready to head back to the train station and finish out the rest of their week with Hawks.

"You looking forward to the six hour train ride back?" Tokoyami smirked over his shoulder, knowing that the answer to his question was a big fat _no_.

Natsumi let out a loud whine, her shoulders drooping, "Abso-fucking-lutely _not_."

Suddenly, she felt warm fingers wrap around her wrist, despite the gentle grasp the shock of the contact had her stumbling backwards. She tilted her head back against the broad chest pressed against her back, her startled crimson stare meeting with amused stormy grey and turquoise.

"Todoroki." She pulled herself away from him quickly, turning to stare up at him quizzically.

Tokoyami stared between the two before quirking an eyebrow and announcing that he would wait for her outside.

"Sorry, if what I said back there made you uncomfortable or upset you in any way. That wasn't my intention." He realized he was still holding her wrist and immediately let it go, his lips tugging into an apologetic frown.

For a moment she was unsure as to what he was referring to but then the conversation from earlier fell back to the forefront of her mind and she quickly shook her head, offering him a reassuring smile, "No, it wasn't anything like that, I'm sorry if I made you think that."

He let out a quiet breath, relieved by her words of reassurance. He still kept his belief that the reason the Nomu had attacked Fukuoka had more to do with her presence there, but he decided that he'd keep his theories regarding her and the League to himself from now on, just to prevent upsetting her in the future.

"You heading back to Endeavor's Agency soon?" Natsumi tilted her head curiously.

Todoroki nodded, "I've been cleared for discharge already, my injuries weren't as severe as Midoriya's or Iida's. Just have to wait for my old man to get his ass over here to get me."

She let out a quiet hum at his response, "I don't know how you've been able to put up with him for this long, I'm so impressed, it's definitely not something I'd ever be able to tolerate that's for sure."

He cracked a small smile, "Years of practice. Trust me, I get absolutely no joy out of being stuck with him for any period of time but the knowledge I'm taking back with me is worth it."

"Well, at least something good is coming from you teaming up with _dear ol' dad_." Her lips pulled back into a teasing grin, she leaned back on the heels of her feet, "I should probably get going, don't want to keep Tokoyami-kun waiting."

His smile faltered. Shouto knew that she needed to go, she had a long train ride ahead of her, but he couldn't help but to feel disappointed at the thought of them not getting enough time together. He didn't think it would be so hard being away from his friend for an entire week, but he had found his thoughts wandering throughout the days during training—wondering what she was currently up to. Sure, they texted late at night once they were both back from their patrols, but it was never enough, not for him at least.

"Be safe." His voice was quiet at first, but then he quirked a brow and offered her a teasing smile, "Try not to get into any more trouble."

Natsumi let out an indignant huff, crossing her arms over her chest, "How dare you insinuate that I can't go the next three days without getting caught up in some shit."

Todoroki chuckled and retorted back challengingly, "Prove me wrong then."

She rocked back and forth on her heels, glancing up at him with her own teasing grin, "Aw, sounds like _someone_ cares about lil' ol' me."

He rolled his eyes, holding her gaze, "Of course I care about you. That's why I need you to take care of yourself."

Natsumi's breath hitched in her throat. She supposed it shouldn't really have come as a shock to her, she cared about him too, but hearing it verbalized had her heart stutter in her chest.

She brought a hand up, tucking a stray strand of ivory hair behind her ear almost shyly before regaining her confidence, "Well, since you asked _so_ nicely."

Todoroki let out a quiet snort at her sassy reply, "I expect you to come home in one piece."

A laugh drifted past her parted lips, "Yeah, yeah. Same goes for you. Don't take any shit from that asshole, you hear?"

"You have my word, Kurosawa." He smirked down at her.

She found herself lost on what to say next to him, finding that his confidence and teasing words were enough to fluster her to the point that her mind couldn't formulate proper sentences. Letting out a quiet, shaky breath, Natsumi tore her eyes away from him, biting her lip, "I'll text you later, have a good day Todoroki."

His remained rooted to that spot in the hallway, watching her retreating form until it disappeared down another corridor where he knew the elevators were located. All Todoroki could think in that moment was, _it's only for three more days…_

* * *

Yooo. This chapter took me a little longer to get out than the previous ones have and I apologize. I feel like I erased and rewrote a lot of paragraphs before I finally figured out how I wanted things worded. This is the end of the internships, next chapter will be everyone seeing each other at school again after being away for the week. And I'm really excited because the one chapter that I've reallllly been looking forward to writing for months is coming up soon (haven't decided if I want it to be next chapter or maybe the one after, but its coming lol).

I'm eager to explore every facet of her new abilities and can't wait for her to get a better grasp on what she's able to do with her Quirk.

Raise your hands if you think part of the reason Todoroki wanted to talk to her alone in the hallway was because he was lowkey jealous of Shinsou getting his alone time with her earlier. We all know that he's not the biggest fan of our sleepy purple boy, especially with how close Shinsou seems to be getting to Natsumi. He's _definitely_ not going to be happy to hear about her and Shinsou training alone together in the future either haha.

There are two new pictures of Natsumi posted to my writing blog (which honestly has just become a place where I post BnHA memes at this point lmao), one of those pictures is actually the new story icon that's a picture of her and Shouto (It's so cute I can't stop staring at it lovingly like a dork lmao)

I want to thank **bbymojo** for reviewing last chapter, you've been such a loyal reviewer and it makes me so incredibly happy to hear what you have to say, so thank you!

Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you guys think! Seriously, your reviews are what keep me writing :3


	18. Chapter 18

The walk to school the following week was a pleasant one as Natsumi thought back on the events of the week prior. Her internship with Hawks had started out pretty shaky and disappointing, the Number Three Hero having blatantly expressed that he had no interest in taking part molding the younger generations of Heroes. He had admitted that he basically sent in his request for her and Tokoyami so he could satiate his own curious mind and learn more about the League of Villains.

Her lips pulled back into a frown at the thought, she had felt so humiliated and angry over the admission made by the flighty blonde. _Thankfully, I am a master negotiator_ , her lips twitched into a small smirk.

After the night of the Nomu attack, the rest of the internship had passed without much incident. She and Tokoyami would train from morning to late afternoon, then in the evening Hawks would come and collect the two for a patrol around the city.

Her control over water had gotten a little better with all the practice she was getting, it still was absolutely nowhere near the level of control she had over her ice, but she was getting there and she was proud of herself nonetheless.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she quickly dug it out, her lips tugged into a grin as she stared down at her lockscreen. On the last day of the internship she had asked Hawks if she could take a picture of him for her obsessed friend, instead of allowing her to take a quick snap of him he had quickly pulled her and Tokoyami to him, using one of his arms to snap a selfie of all three.

The picture depicted a mildly surprised Tokoyami who's eyes were a little wide, Hawks in the middle with a big cheesy grin and his arms slung around the shoulders of his interns to keep them in place and pressed up against him. Natsumi was on the right side, her cheek smushed up against the Winged Hero's with a bright grin of her own.

It was probably her favorite photo that she had even been in and had immediately become the lock screen on her phone.

Natsumi tapped her phone's password in to unlock it and read the text message she had just received, rolling her eyes.

 **Mina** : _Hey girl~! Can't wait to hear allllll about your time with Hawks! You better spill all those juicy little details girl, I'm serious! You owe me since you never sent me that pic I asked for D:_

The ivory haired teen let out a quiet laugh, she had decided she'd show her friend the photo in person so she could see her expression. Natsumi enjoyed keeping Mina waiting in suspense, barely giving her any details about what was happening while she was away on her internship other than what she divulged in the group chat—which wasn't much to begin with.

She made it to Yūei shortly after, exchanging her boots for her school shoes at her locker before making her way up to her classroom. Natsumi was eager to see her classmates again, it had been a long week away and, while she didn't want to admit it out loud, she had dearly missed each and every one of them. _Even_ Mineta, though admittedly not as much as the rest of the class.

Once making it to class, Natsumi slid into her seat and turned towards the aisle to face her seat mate, a pleasant smile pulling at her lips, "I see you made it back in one piece."

He quirked a brow, tilting his head towards her with a slight upturn of his lips, "I could say the same about you."

She let out a quiet huff, rolling her eyes, "You act as if all I do is get into trouble."

Todoroki scoffed in a teasing manner, "Don't you, though?"

"Todoroki Shouto, you wound me with your hurtful words." Natsumi let out a gasp, placing her hand over her heart.

"Should've thought about that before you became the resident troublemaker."

"Whoa, whoa. Wait a minute here. Have you forgotten about Midoriya-kun, because he tends to get himself involved with _way_ more shit than I do." At the mention of his name, the mossy haired freckled boy glanced up from his conversation with Ochako and Iida and offered the ivory haired girl a smile before turning back to his friends.

"That's debatable." Todoroki smirked.

She narrowed her eyes, "Why you little—"

The sound of Ashido squealing excitedly caused Natsumi to pause and glance over to the pink haired girl who was fawning over the rest of the girls in their class. A bright grin split Ashido's lips a part, "What~?! You got to fight villains? I'm so jealous!"

Jirou frowned, absently twirling one of her ear-jacks around her index finger, "I just helped people evacuate and did logistical support, so I didn't do any actual fighting."

Ashido laid her palms flat against Tsu's desk and leaned forward, "It's still really cool, though!"

Tsu tapped her index finger against her lips as she thought back on her own internship, "All I did was train and go on patrols, too. Though, there was that one time when we caught smugglers from a neighboring country."

Ashido and Jirou's eyes simultaneously widened at the implication of their sweet friend going up against real life bad guys out on the open sea.

"That's crazy!" Jirou stared at her frog-like friend incredulously.

Tsu turned in her seat, a curious smile playing on her lips, "What about you, Ochako-chan? How was your week?"

The brunette stared off into the distance, as if she were in a trance, while slowly punching the air, "It was very informative."

"Ochako-chan has awakened, huh?" Tsu tilted her head.

"She went to that battle hero's agency, didn't she?" Jirou wondered out loud.

Natsumi perked up, deciding to interject right then and there, her lips pulled back into a competitive grin, "We should spar sometime, I'd love to see all the fun new tricks you learned under Gunhead!"

"Think you can handle _these_ guns?" Ochako giggled, flexing her arms to show off her newly forming arm muscles.

Kaminari quirked a brow, his bottom seated against his desk top while his legs hung over the sides, despite Iida's scolding against such behavior, "That's a pretty big change for just one week…"

Mineta sat atop the desk in front of the blonde, his body turned sideways to make conversing easier on the two, "Change? That's not it, Kaminari." Suddenly the boy's demeanor did a complete 180 from the jovial, teasing expression he had previously donned to one of abject horror as he anxiously chewed on the skin around his finger nails all the while mumbling, "Women are all demons. They're just hiding their true personalities."

"What the hell did you see at Mt. Lady's?!" Kaminari's eyes widened as he took in the change in his friend's countenance. In an effort to lighten the mood, he reached forward and pulled Mineta's hand away from his mouth to keep him from biting his nails, "I was kinda fawned over and had a really good time to be honest with you. But, the ones that changed the most, or at least went through the most were you guys, right?" He glanced over right as Midoriya and Iida crowded around Todoroki's desk to talk to him. The three boys in question peered up at him with varying expressions of unease.

"That's right!" Sero chimed in, "You guys went against the Hero Killer!"

"I'm glad you guys made it out alive, seriously." Kirishima smiled softly.

Suddenly, nearly everyone in the class began to crowd around the three boys, all sharing curious looks. It was Satou who spoke next, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned forward, "I heard it was Endeavor who came to your rescue, right?"

"That's amazing! As expected of the Number Two hero!" Hagakure gushed appreciatively.

Todoroki bit the inside of his cheek, silently fighting back the urge to correct his classmates and reveal the truth of that fateful encounter to them. But the memory of their conversation with the Chief of Police replayed in his mind. His gaze fell to his desk top in quiet resignation before he brought his stare back up to peer at his curious classmates, "Yeah. He saved us."

Kaminari then tilted his head towards the girl sitting beside Todoroki, "I also heard that Natsu-chan and Tokoyami fought some pretty tough foes too, almost identical to that one from USJ! Man, I'm definitely not jealous of you guys, I'm glad my internship was relatively easy-going."

Natsumi exchanged a glance with Tokoyami from across the room, before turning back to the expectant stares of her classmates, automatically feeling uneasy as their attention now turned to her thanks to Kaminari.

"Yeah, those Nomu were no joke." She laughed quietly, doing her best to hide her discomfort, "We're just lucky that Hawks and the other Pros were there."

" _What?! Don't downplay our part in the fight! We totally kicked ass."_ Dark Shadow peered out of his hiding spot, placing his shadowed hands upon his hips as he called her out.

Tokoyami massaged his temples with his fingers, letting out an exasperated sigh as he quietly fought with Dark Shadow over the matter. The two bickered back and forth for a couple of minutes before the creature let out an overdramatic huff and disappeared once more.

"I saw on the new that the Hero Killer Stain was connected with the League of Villains, which means that both attacks weren't a mere coincidence." Ojiro brought up, he tapped his index finger against his chin as he began to speak his thoughts, "Though, I just can't seem to figure out the connection between Hosu and Fukuoka. I get why they choice Hosu, that was because of Stain and his pattern of attack, but what was the significance in choosing to attack Fukuoka, a city on the opposite end of the country?"

"I know, right? I'll never understand the reasoning behind villain attacks." Hagakure sighed, "Though, the thought of Stain working with the League of Villains has my mind jumping back to the USJ attack. I just keep imagining how much scarier it would've been if he had been there." She shuddered at the thought, her voice wavering.

Kaminari stepped forward, one hand shoved deep into his pants pocket while he waved the other around for emphasis, "He _is_ scary, but did you guys see the video?"

Ojiro tilted his head, "Video? You mean the one of the hero killer?"

"Yeah! Seeing that, you can really see how he's single-minded and pretty tenacious when it comes to defending his own ideals. Doesn't it almost make you think he's cool?" The electrifying blonde cocked his head, raising a curious brow at his classmates.

"Kaminari-kun!" Midoriya whispered harshly, worrying his lip while sliding his gaze, not so subtly, over to Iida who was standing beside him.

Catching on to the warning, Kaminari faltered, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth as if to prevent anymore unintentionally offensive words from spilling out, "Oh, Iida—sorry!"

Iida shook his head, quietly tearing his eyes away from the frantic and apologetic stare of Kaminari. Slowly, he brought his left arm out in front of his chest, eyes locked on his clenched fist, "No, it's fine. It's true that he was tenacious and it's easy to see how people could find him to be cool. But he chose to purge the world of Heroes as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong. In order to keep anyone else from turning out like me, I will once again walk the path to becoming a Hero!" He ended his speech with a flourish, a determined fire burning passionately behind his dark eyes.

Those closest to him began to cheer and offer praise, moved by his powerful speech. Iida waved away their apologies for momentarily finding the hero killer to be cool, the bespectacled boy then strongly urged his classmates to return to their previous conversations and prepare for class to commence soon.

Kirishima and Sero suddenly pushed themselves away from their seats with a burst of energy that should have been illegal at such an early hour of the day. They crowded around the doorframe, laughing hysterically at the figure who had yet to make it fully into the room for the rest of the class to see what was causing the two boys to lose their minds.

"S-seriously, Bakugou!?" Sero was in tears, unable to keep his voice steady as the words tumbled out in a hysterical stutter.

"W-what h-happened, bro?" Kirishima was also having a hard time keeping it together, his lips spread apart in a wide, toothy grin as tears freely fell from the corners of his eyes.

An irritated snarl rumbled from deep within the chest of the blonde pushing his way through the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, carmine eyes narrowed in a glare, "Stop laughing! My hair's gotten used to being styled this way, I can't get it to go back even after washing it."

As Bakugou stomped farther inside, the rest of the class got a good look at his new hair style, many of them doing their best to contain their amused giggles while some could not contain themselves. Bakugou's normally wild and unkempt head of ash blonde spikes had been tamed, brushed and slicked down with gel and hair product.

"Oh my god. Happy birthday to me!" Natsumi choked on her own laughter, quickly digging through her bag to pull out her phone, holding it up and snapping several photos of Bakugou in rapid succession.

Todoroki tore his eyes away from the scene at the front of the room, glancing over at his seat mate, "It's your birthday?"

She grinned, tilting her head over her shoulder at him, "Close enough."

Carmine eyes snapped up, meeting amused ruby red. A growl ripped through his throat as he stalked forward, "You got a death wish, princess? _You better delete those_."

A loud bark of laughter escaped her, nimble fingers typed quickly against her digital keyboard for a moment before she looked up at the fuming blonde, a taunting smirk pulling at her lips. Moments later several 'dings' and loud vibrations were heard around the classroom, half of the class reached for their phones out of curiosity while the rest of the students kept their eyes trained on the two hotheads.

Kaminari was the first to check his phone, immediately falling out of his seat in a fit of giggles, "Thanks Natsu-chan! This is going to be my new wallpaper!" He flashed the photo of Bakugou to those who were sitting closest to him, his lips pulled back into a wide grin.

"I'll fucking kill you!" He growled, launching himself forward.

Natsumi couldn't control her own bouts of laughter as she leapt up from her seat, her feet planted firmly against her chair as she leaned back as far as she could without completely toppling over herself. Bakugou leaned forward across her desk, his fingers stretching to snatch her phone from her, intent on smashing it despite the fact that the damage was already done and the entire class already had a copy of his embarrassing photo. But, he was angry and petty and would stop at nothing to get her back.

She knew she wouldn't be able to hold out for too long, being that his body was much longer than her's was and all he had to do was just lean a little more towards her and he'd have her right where he needed her to be. Natsumi couldn't pull back any farther without falling completely out of her seat, her back was already bent at an uncomfortable angle over the back of her chair and hovering in the air.

His lips twisted into a feral smirk as his fingers curled around her wrist, the one that held the cell phone just out of his reach, "You lose, snowflake."

The smaller teen let out a surprised yelp from the contact, she unintentionally scooted backwards to attempt to put some distance between the two of them, only to realize that there was nothing behind her to hold her body up. A loud screech tumbled past her parted lips as she fell backwards, Bakugou still clutching tightly to her wrist was pulled along for the ride.

Time seemed to stop altogether as the two fell unceremoniously to the floor behind her desk, all chatter and noise around them abruptly ended, all eyes were now focused on the two teens.

Natsumi grunted from the impact of her back hitting the tiled floor, her eyes wide as she stared up at the explosive blonde straddling her, his hand still firmly wrapped around her wrist and holding it above her head, restraining her. Bakugou also donned a surprised look in place of his usual angry scowl, the gears in his head slowly turning, coming back to life after a few quiet, tense moments of silence where the two teens just stared up at each other in shocked horror.

It was the _click_ of photo being taken that finally snapped the two out of their horrified trance.

"Oi, Dunce-Face, I'll fucking kill you." Bakugou growled, shooting the electrifying blonde a seething glare.

Kaminari's lips pulled back into a cheeky grin, "Sorry, dude. But I needed to commemorate the moment."

Bakugou was back to his feet in a flash, his previous goal of smashing Natsumi's phone pushed to the far side of his mind, "Commemorate _what,_ volts for brains?"

Ashido giggled and sing-songed, "The day you fell in love with Natsu-chan~!"

Natsumi pulled herself to her feet and blanched at the thought, making an exaggerated gagging noise, before turning her gaze towards her pink friend. A disappointed pout tugged her bottom lip forward, "Mina-chan I thought we were friends, why have you betrayed me?"

The pink haired teen frowned, "Oh, don't be like that Natsu-chan, you know I love you! Consider this payback for not getting me a cute pic of Hawks!"

The ivory haired teen groaned, begrudgingly holding out her phone and showing the other girl her lock screen.

Ashido's eyes widened and she emitted a high-pitched squeal, fingers darted out to grasp the phone and pull it towards herself so she could examine every detail of the photo of Hawks, Natsumi, and Tokoyami.

"Girl this is so damn cute, I can't handle it!"

Natsumi rolled her eyes, "Glad you think so." Though she was still sore about the fact that Mina had plotted against her to goad Kaminari into taking that embarrassing photo of her and Bakugou.

Kaminari let out a nervous chuckle, golden eyes focused on the angry blonde quietly seething on the other side of the room. The two boys stared at each other, as if daring the other to make a move first. Kaminari's fingers slowly rose from his side, intent on doing exactly what Natsumi had done earlier and send the incriminating photo to the group chat to immortalize it. However, as soon as Bakugou saw the movement he was leaping into action, sliding across desk tops while Kaminari let out a horrified screech and took off to keep his distance.

In that moment of seething anger, Bakugou's ash blonde hair popped back up into place, though he took no noticed to it as his fingertips crackled with angry sparks. He was in no mood to take shit from anyone today, not that he ever was, but his temper was already shortened over the past week from his joke of an internship.

"Oh shit! His hair responded to his explosive anger!" Sero brought a palm up to his face to attempt to stifle his laughter, tears freely rolling down his cheeks.

Kaminari snorted, dancing out of the angry blonde's grasp once more before dashing farther away, remaining _just_ out of reach.

"Everyone please get back to your seats, class will be starting momentarily!" Iida reprimanded firmly, karate chopping the air like he typically did when he was trying to emphasize his words and get the point across.

"Shut it, four eyes." Bakugou growled, tiny explosions popping off against his outstretched fingertips, one of the sparks jumped a foot from his hand and landed on Kaminari's blazer, sizzling upon contact. The electrifying blonde let out a small shriek, quickly turning his attention away from the ash blonde to pat down his uniform to prevent it from getting ruined. It was during that moment of distraction that Bakugou was able to make his move, his hands lashed out, fingers curling around the collar of Kaminari's blazer, roughly yanking the boy towards him so they were face to face.

"H-hey, Bakubro, it was j-just a j-joke." Kaminari stuttered through his fear, eyes warily darting down to Bakugou's hands, noting the sweat glistening along his fingers. Kaminari hoped that the other boy had enough restraint not to use his quirk at such close range, _but then again, this is Bakugou we're talking about…fuck, I'm going to need a new uniform after this, aren't I?_

"You kids are too rambunctious this early in the morning." Aizawa drawled as he shuffled into the classroom, his back hunched over slightly as a clear sign of his own exhaustion, "Bakugou, put Kaminari down and both of you return to your seats, if I catch either of you fighting again in my classroom I will not hesitate to suspend you both."

Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance, glancing over his shoulder at their homeroom teacher before slowly lowering the blonde in his grasp back to his feet but not before giving the boy one final shove for good measure. Kaminari ducked his head and scrambled back to his desk, plopping down with a quiet thud while Bakugou stalked back over to his own seat with a scowl.

Class resumed as normal from that moment forward, Aizawa commanded their attention from the moment he entered the room and no one was brave enough to step one toe out of line now that he was there. All chatter ceased for the time being, picking back up again between class changes and during lunch time.

* * *

It wasn't until the very end of the day when the hype over being back at Yūei after a week away really began to build up once more. After being told to change into their Hero costumes and meet up at Ground Gamma for Basic Hero Training, the excitement was barely contained, even Natsumi was eager to show everyone what she had learned while away.

All Might stood before the group of Heroes in Training, his hands resting against his hips as he flashed them his trademark grin, "Alright, I am here! Long time no see, boys and girls! For Hero Basic Training today we'll be doing a rescue training race! I'm sure all of you are eager and raring to go after being away from each other for a whole week, so put all of your newly acquired skills to the test and show us what you've learned during your internships!"

Iida's hand was immediately in the air, straight and unwavering, he spoke before All Might had the chance to call upon him, "If we're doing rescue training then shouldn't we be doing it at USJ?"

The Symbol of Peace was ready for this question, leaning forward with a wide grin, "That place is for training for disasters. Do you remember what I said earlier?" Without giving the kids time to react or answer, he chuckled, "The keyword was 'race', which is why we are here at Ground Gamma; a dense area filled with factories laid out in an intricate labyrinth. You'll break up into three groups of five and one group of six and go through the training one group at a time. When I send out a distress signal from somewhere inside, you'll all start at once from the outskirts of the city! This is a race to see who will rescue me first!"

He drew in a breath, allowing his words to settle in over the students before he continued, his eyes immediately finding the narrowed carmine gaze of Bakugou in the crowd, "Of course, you'll have to keep damage to the buildings to an absolute minimum."

Bakugou scowled, turning his head away with an annoyed click of his tongue, muttering, "Don't point at me!"

Lots were chosen once again to decide who would be on what team to make things fair to all participants. The first team consisted of Midoriya, Iida, Ojiro, Natsumi, Ashido, and Sero who all took their respective places around the outer edges of the map, far enough away from each other so that they couldn't sabotage the start of the race for anyone.

Natsumi found herself positioned atop a steel platform overlooking the industrial jungle stretched out before her. It was the perfect vantage point and she knew it would be easy to maneuver across the metal piping with her ice, the victory was practically her's already.

She crouched down, fingers curling and uncurling at her sides impatiently as All Might counted down from ten. Once he finished his count down, he cried out ' _Start_!' and suddenly Natsumi was off, tearing across the rooftops of metal factories, using her ice to speed across steel pipes towards the center of the cityscape.

From where she was, she could see the tell-tale signs of some of her other classmates also taking to the rooftops, no doubt realizing that that was the quickest and most efficient way to rush through the metal maze.

Ahead of her on her left Sero was swinging through the air like Spider-Man, using his tape to latch onto pipes and building outcrops to propel himself forward. Her lips downturned into a frown, this was a race after all and if she planned on winning then she'd need to get herself ahead of him.

Natsumi found a particularly long and slanted metal pipe that seemed to span across the industrial wasteland from one end to the other. _That'll work_. It was angled downward with twists and turns in various directions, ice burst from the bottoms of her feet, catapulting her several feet in the air to align herself better with the pipe. As she came back down, she used the frozen particles to propel her forward, her feet sliding against the metal tubing. With the pipe having a downward slant, the momentum was far greater than if she had continued sliding along the rooftops and she found herself catching up to and passing Sero quickly.

"Huh? Argh, Natsu-chan get back here!" Sero called out, gritting his teeth in frustration as she passed him.

Natsumi grinned, glancing back over her shoulder briefly to stick her tongue out tauntingly at the boy, which only further riled him up. Sero let out an annoyed huff within his mask, he was already going as fast as he physically could.

Out of nowhere a blur of green electricity fizzled into existence on the rooftop beside her and she momentarily had to squint her eyes against the brightness of the sparks. When her vision cleared she stared slack jawed at Midoriya's form leaping and bounding across the rooftops at such an incredible speed that she had to pinch herself to make sure she was really seeing what she was seeing.

 _When did he get so fast? His bones aren't breaking! He's moving just like Bakugou, oh man I bet he's absolutely fuming right now!_ She found herself distracted by her thoughts and during the brief moment of her mind's preoccupation Midoriya was able to push himself ahead of her and Sero.

The distance that the boy had put between them in just a few short seconds was astounding and left Natsumi openly gaping at his retreating form. A low growl tore through her throat at the thought of not reaching All Might first. Her victory was slowly slipping further and further away from her when just moments ago it had been right in her grasp.

The ivory haired teen channeled her inner strength into her feet, feeling the buildup of rime coat the spiked bottoms of her boots before using the slick ice to propel her forward. She leapt from the pipe that she had been gliding on, free falling several feet before maneuvering herself closer to the wall of the factory to her left. She stretched her legs out, feeling the iron wall beneath her feet, she was able to stabilize her descent quickly by creating more ice beneath her boots, using that as an anchor to keep her body attached to the side of the building. Once her grip on the smooth building's wall was established, Natsumi began running at full force with the help of her ice to give her an extra boost.

"She's running sideways along the wall! Has…has she always been able to do that?" Ochako tilted her head curiously as she watched her classmates on the television screen chase after their victory.

It was a trick that she had been working on the last couple of days of her internship with Hawks, when she realized that she needed a better way of keeping up with him when he took to the skies.

Midoriya glanced back over his shoulder the moment he felt the temperature around him drop and he knew that that could only mean one thing…."N-Natsu-chan!"

She was closing in on him, a competitive grin stretching her lips back, "Surprise!"

"New move?" Midoriya's eyes widened, watching as she sped up alongside him as he bounded across a metal pipe. In the moment that it took for him to glance over to observe her movements, his foot slipped as it made contact with the pipe beneath him and he let out a startled yelp as he tumbled over the side and fell towards the ground below.

Natsumi fought over whether she should be concerned for her friend or if she should continue towards the objective. In the end, she decided that she should continue onward and claim her victory now that the leading contender was out of the race.

At the center of the arena stood All Might in all his glory, beaming brightly, hands placed upon his hips in his signature stance that exuded confidence. She grinned, he was so close, just a few yards away now. She outstretched her hand towards him in an attempt to bring herself just that much closer to the Hero, his booming laughter ringing across the field.

"Not so fast, Natsu-chan!" Sero chuckled, his tape shooting out towards All Might, as he sidled up beside her, his feet pounding against the pavement. Suddenly it was an all out race between the two, their brows creased in determination, jaws clenched.

"Oh no you don't, sticky boy." She called out, pulling more water molecules from the surrounding air to use as ammunition against her opponent. She shot one hand out towards Sero, tiny balls of ice shot out towards him, pelting against his helmet and making him wince.

"Hey! Not fair!" Taking a page out of her book, he shot a sticky line of tape out towards her, it wrapped around her arms, pinning them against her torso.

Natsumi let out a startled shriek and began to lose balance from not being able to use her arms as a counterweight. She was able to quickly right herself, though, and continued forward despite how awkward it was to run without the use of her arms.

The two cleared the distance between themselves and All Might in a matter of seconds, both leaping towards the towering Hero and colliding against his chest simultaneously. The combined weight of the two students wasn't even enough to knock the man off kilter, he simply wrapped one imposing arm around each student to keep them steady, while letting out a loud, amused chuckle.

"Well done, you two! I'd say it was a photo finish ending in a tie!" All Might declared, "Though Young Kurosawa and Young Sero finished with a tie, I'd say that you all have gotten a lot better at using your Quirks since the beginning of the year! Keep up this momentum and start preparing for your final exam! I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that each and every one of you will pass with flying colors!" He addressed the last part to the entire class.

 _A tie!?_ She groaned, hanging her head dejectedly at the thought, those were the only words she had taken away from the Number One Hero's spiel.

Sero laughed, taking his helmet off and flashing the ivory haired teen a wide grin as All Might set them both back on their feet, "That was fun."

She struggled against the sticky binding wrapped around her torso for a moment before glancing up and catching the amused stare of her classmate, "Little help here?"

He chuckled, nodding his head and shuffling towards her to help her remove the tape keeping her arms pinned to her sides. Once she was free of her sticky confines, she stretched her arms above her head and wiggled her fingers to help chase away the numbness that had begun to set in when her limbs had started to fall asleep from disuse.

The rest of her classmates involved in the first race pulled up shortly after, breathing heavily and congratulating Sero and Natsumi for their tied victory, subsequently rubbing salt in Natsumi's metaphoric wound.

She joined the rest of her classmates, ready to watch the remaining matches, still feeling a little annoyed that she hadn't been able to come out on top.

"Those were some pretty impressive moves, Natsu-chan!" Ochako beamed, bouncing over to her side.

Natsumi let out a quiet huff, "Not impressive enough to win me first place."

"You were close, though." Todoroki sidled up beside her, raising an eyebrow at her, "You were all giving it your best and it showed. You should be proud of your victory, even if it was a shared one."

She let out a contemplative hum, eyes darting between the eagerly nodding brunette beside her and the solemn, but supportive, dual-color haired boy on the other side of her. With a resigned sigh, she tilted her head slightly, the corners of her lips tipping into a small smile, "Yeah, I suppose you're both right. I was being a little too hard on myself."

"You always are." Todoroki shrugged his shoulders, peering down at her, "You really have come a long way. I remember when you could barely run a mile before getting winded."

Natsumi's jaw dropped at his comment, "I can't believe you just brought that up…how dare you!"

He smirked, "You're not denying it, though."

Her cheeks tinged a light pink and she turned her head away from him with an indignant pout, "Well, no, but you still didn't have to bring it up."

Ochako started laughing, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to quell the bubbling amusement inside her, "I-I can't g-get over how c-cute you t-two are, ohmygod." She began to wheeze from how hard she was laughing, causing the two teens next to her to turn in her direction and stare at her in concern.

"C-cute?" Natsumi sputtered, her cheeks growing darker in color.

"I don't understand." Todoroki frowned, "Kurosawa are you alright? You look flushed did you overexert yourself during the training exercise?"

Ochako shot her friend a cheeky grin, "Yeah, _Natsu-chan_ , you're looking a little red in the face. Maybe Todoroki-kun should escort you to see Recovery Girl."

"Absolutely not." Natsumi rolled her eyes before narrowing them at her friend, "I never thought dear, sweet Ochako-chan would end up betraying me like this."

The brunette shrugged her shoulders, giggling, "Oh hush, you had it coming after all the times you've literally pushed me towards—ah—" Her eyes momentarily landed on Todoroki before peeling them away and frantically whispering to Natsumi,"—you know who."

Todoroki quirked a curious brow and tilted his head, "Are you sure you don't want to see Recovery Girl? You look feverish, is it from your Quirk's drawback?"

The ivory haired teen shot her friend an annoyed look, only to be met with another amused grin from the brunette, before turning towards the concerned boy next to her, "Ah, no, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though, I think I'll live."

He didn't look convinced but was wise enough to drop the subject. The three turned their attention to All Might who announced the next team.

* * *

Natsumi stretched her arms high above her head, humming appreciatively once she heard a loud pop and the tightness in her shoulders had receded from the action. School had ended over half an hour ago and she found herself waiting idly by the forest that surrounded Yūei. She had changed into her gym uniform and placed her school bag by a boulder jutting out of the ground.

The sound of leaves crunching beneath boots and twigs snapping pulled her attention towards the entrance of the forest, her skin prickling in anticipation of who it could be venturing towards her.

"Sorry I'm late, Aizawa-sensei wanted to talk to me." Shinsou stepped out of the shadows the trees were casting, his hand brought up to rub at the back of his neck awkwardly.

Natsumi relaxed, feeling silly for having been on guard in the first place when she was the one who had asked Shinsou to meet her in the woods from the get go.

"No big deal, I wasn't waiting long." She shrugged, taking a step towards the boy, "Are you still training with him?"

He nodded, "Yeah, we're going to be continuing my training five days a week. I figured that the two days he doesn't do anything with me I can train with you."

Her eyes widened, "Whoa, whoa. So, you're planning on training seven days a week? _Every week_? Without a break in between? You do realize how idiotic that is, right? There's a reason Aizawa-sensei gave you two days off—its so you don't overwork yourself."

Shinsou shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, peering down at her, "No pain, no gain, am I right?"

"You're gonna be gainin' a whole lot of pain if you put your body through that nonstop training schedule." Natsumi narrowed her eyes up at him, "I'll do one day with you—I literally cannot condone you overworkin' those noodle arms of yours like that."

One well-manicured indigo eyebrow rose high above the other at her comment, "I think I should be the one who decides what I can and can't handle in this situation. Either you help me on the days Aizawa isn't, or I do it myself. Either way I plan on training the full seven days of the week, it's your choice whether you want to be present or not."

She squinted her eyes up at him in irritation, abruptly bringing her arms up to cross them over her chest while tapping her foot against the soft earth beneath her. She was agitated and the smug smirk that Shinsou was shooting in her direction was making her blood boil. He had her. He knew that she was too nice to just walk away from him now, especially with the threat of him working by himself hanging in the air. It could be dangerous to train alone, especially someone who was inexperienced and didn't exactly know what he was doing when it came to strength and cardio training.

"Well?" He asked, almost impatiently.

Natsumi let out an annoyed growl, "Fine. But if your body can't handle it then you _have_ to take at least one day off. I'm serious, if Aizawa-sensei finds out that you're not doing this properly and overworking yourself he's not only going to punish you but he'll come after me too and I am not about to get put on house-arrest or cleaning duty or whatever for the rest of the year because of you."

Shinsou chuckled, holding up his hands defensively, "Alright, alright. Don't worry, Aizawa-sensei won't find out."

"He better not." She threatened with a glare, "Alright, we're wasting too much time. You ready?"

"Wait, let me just…" He mumbled, shrugging off his backpack and kneeling on the ground beside it, he dug through it until he found what he was looking for. With a triumphant tug, he pulled out a long, light grey roll of material, swiftly wrapping it loosely around his neck before standing before her once more.

Natsumi quirked an amused eyebrow, cocking her hip to the side and leaning forward slightly to get a better look, "Did you steal Aizawa-sensei's capture weapon…?"

His brows furrowed at the implication and he scrunched up his nose indignantly, "Absolutely not, you think I could even get close enough to him to swipe it off his shoulders? You're dumber than I thought, Kurosawa."

"You dare insult the girl who is going out of her way to help train you behind her teacher's back?" She shot back, crimson eyes narrowed.

He leaned back on the balls of his feet, running his thin, nimble fingers through his unruly lilac locks, "Fine, I'm sorry for insinuating that you were dumb." Indigo met crimson, his lips perked up at the corners, "You happy?"

She shot a harsh stream of air from her nose before nodding her head, "Yes, very much so."

The two teens started warming up by doing a variety of stretches, most of which Shinsou had been shown by Aizawa during his week of training, so he was able to catch on pretty quickly to the routine she was demonstrating. Natsumi was curious to see what he had learned during the week with her homeroom teacher so that she could determine what he needed to work on the most.

For the most part, she knew that the days that she would be training with Shinsou would more than likely be spent in the gym working on strength or cardio to better help him prepare for the tougher exercises that Aizawa would be putting him through. But she needed to see what she was working with, which was why they were going to spar today to see how much help he needed.

"So, you actually know how to use that thing?" Her head tilted curiously at the indigo eyed boy who was fumbling with the capture weapon wrapped around his neck. It was sort of comical, the amount of material sitting heavily upon his shoulders, weighing his movements down—it was clear to her that he wasn't yet used to it.

Shinsou chuckled nervously, peeling his eyes away from his support item to meet her amused gaze, "Not exactly. It came in a few days ago from the support company, Aizawa-sensei has started teaching me how to use it, it's not as easy as he makes it seem."

"Oh?" Natsumi grinned, "Show me."

He furrowed his brows at her command, watching as she got into a defensive position, her eyes urging him to make a move. Shinsou shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his mind running through various scenarios on how to beat her—he knew he was horrendously outmatched. But, he had to try, right?

Sliding one foot forward, readying himself as he had seen Aizawa do many times during their sparring matches over the last week, he reached up, feeling his fingers curl around the thick material of his capture weapon. Truth was, he still had no idea how to properly use the damn thing, Aizawa had admitted to him that it had taken him five years to really get a handle on how to use it—and Shinsou had only been practicing with his for _five days_. He shook his head to clear away his thoughts, strands of unruly lilac hair falling into his eyes from the action.

"You just gonna stand there all day, or you gonna come at me?" Natsumi's voice was taunting, her eyes crinkling at the corners in a teasing manner as she watched him get lost in his thoughts. _He must be trying to come up with a strategy_.

Shinsou narrowed his eyes, kicking up a spray of loose soil as he made his move, bursting forward with a speed that he knew wouldn't last considering how low his stamina currently was, but he was hoping it would be enough to give him the upper hand.

Natsumi stood still, feet firmly planted against the forest floor as she scrutinized his form, watching closely how he moved sloppily towards her, his breathing already ragged. At the last moment he yanked a long strip of his scarf from around his neck, pulling it taut in his grip, his eyes narrowed and focused solely on the ivory haired girl standing several feet away from him.

She was prepared to dash out of the way of his attack, she bent her knees slightly in preparation of her escape but…the moment never came.

As Shinsou thrust his hand forward, slinging the strip of material towards the girl in an attempt to capture her, he misjudged the amount of force needed to manipulate the weapon. Instead of shooting forward and wrapping around Natsumi, it only flew a couple of feet before hitting the ground. Shinsou, unable to stop his own momentum in time, stumbled over the support item and fell forward with the weapon unwinding from around his shoulders and wrapping around his body.

Natsumi straightened up from her semi-crouched position, laughter bubbling from deep within her at seeing the lilac haired boy all tangled up in his own support item, "Holy shit, Shinsou we have a _lot_ to work on."

He wiggled on the ground in front of her, attempting to pry the scarf from around his arms while muttering various curses at his own predicament. Shinsou eventually heaved a loud sigh and ceased his struggling, tired indigo eyes rose to meet amused crimson staring down at him, "A little help, Kurosawa?"

She chuckled, stepping over his entangled body and walking in the opposite direction, "You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it."

* * *

Oh boy, I don't even know why it felt like this chapter took me forever, but it really did. Sometimes I just stumble over how I want to end a chapter and then it takes me a million years to just write it out. Anyway, I'm really excited about next chapter—it's something that I've been wanting to write for months, it's just gonna be a cute chapter, nothing too crazy, but I'm excite nonetheless lmao! Anywayyy~! THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed, seriously you guys are what keep pushing me forward to finish this story. Please continue to send me your thoughts, I love reading everything that you have to say!

 **TheVulcanNara** – Omg. Thank you SO much for taking the time to write such a long and beautiful review, seriously, it made me so excited to read that I had to sit down and respond to it the day you sent it in while everything was still fresh on my mind lmao. So, I have a notebook where I have each chapter outlined (well to an extent), and originally I had Natsumi interning with an original character, had the entire internship planned out and written out basically. But then I started catching up on the manga and I ended up falling in love with Hawks and I completely scrapped the original concept last minute to have her intern with him—and I'm glad that I did because of the current arc in the manga and I have big things planned for her and Hawks later on.

It's funny that you mention that you can see her and Bakugou having a friends with benefits type relationship because that was something I had originally wanted to do. I was going to have them share their first kiss during the time when she was suspended from school and he was visiting her but I just couldn't write out the interaction organically so I never included it. But I had a whole thing planned out how they had this fwb relationship in secrecy and then it ended up coming to light during a game of Truth or Dare after they move into the dorms and boyyy was Todoroki going to be pissed. In my head though it has happened and they do have that type of relationship, but that will likely never make it into the story at this point lol so I guess it is just an AU of this story at this point. But, I definitely do see them as sharing that brother/sister type bond where they just _love_ to get under each other's skin, start fights, and insult each other but at the end of the day they truly do care about each other.

As for who she's going to end up with—I'm like 90% sure it's going to be Todoroki, but I mean that could always change, especially if people end up really liking Shinsou. But as for right now I promise I don't plan on rushing anything. In my head I have the story planned out up to the current manga arc and she's not with anyone yet—though, that could always change when it actually comes time for me to write future chapters so who knows what's going to happen at this point. I have a lot of the story planned out but, as I mentioned, half the time I end up scrapping ideas at the last minute and making changes so lol! But, I definitely plan on their being a ton of cute, fluffy scenes between her and the boys, but it's going to be a long time before there's any actual romance lol. Todoroki is oblivious to feelings so, it would take him a 100 years to even realize that he actually likes her anyway. Shinsou is a little less oblivious, but he's also stubborn. Anyway, this has turned into a long winded response and I'm going to stop now but ahhh, seriously thank you so much, I loved hearing your thoughts! Also, thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about some of the things that I had originally intended to happen in the story.

 **Aspiring Author (guest)** – Thank you so much for taking the time to send me a review! That would seriously make me so incredibly happy if you wanted to send me fanart! If you don't have an account here you can always email me at thuston1018 at yahoo dot com that would probably be the easiest way to send things my way. Either way, thank you so much, I'm so happy that you like my story enough to want to draw the characters :3

 **Adhara Snow** – I have never been super attached to Tokoyami and I was kind of dreading having to write him, I almost wimped out and decided to change the internships around and have it just be Natsumi interning with Hawks without Tokoyami. But I'm glad that I kept him there because I was able to have her bond with him and Dark Shadow and I feel like she and Tokoyami could both stand to have more friends in their lives lol.

 **Bbymojo** – Ahh, I seriously love the twins. Their views are (a little? Lol) skewed and they maybe don't always handle things correctly, but they're trying in their own way. I can't wait for them to start appearing more in future chapters, they love her so much they just…kind of bad at showing it lmao.

A little Shinsou and Natsumi training together at the end, there will be more in depth training with these two to come later on—boy is crazy for wanting to train nonstop without a day to rest though. But, he's determined to get into the Hero course so I can't really say that I blame him but damn, I'm sure his body is going to be aching after Aizawa and Natsumi are done with him lol!

 **ShinigamiReiko** – AHHH IM SORRY I CAN'T HELP MYSELF! I love Bakugou too! But oh man, I need to stop, can't have you guys thinking she's a hoe trying to win the hearts of ALL the boys out here. She and Bakugou definitely have a special type of relationship though, they've got that love-hate thing going on that makes things so much fun lol. Thank you so much for your support, I'm so happy that you like the story 😊


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